From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The Correspondent Chapel of
Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has produced the first Female Chairman of the Chapel in the person of Asma’u Yawo Halilu, of Voice of Nigerian (VON)
Her election followed the withdrawal of Abdulraheem Aodu, of Blueprint Newspaper from the race.
In her acceptance speech, Hajia Asma’u Yawo Halilu, said the Chapel has collectively made history by her emergence as the first female Chairperson of the Correspondent Chapel, not only in Kaduna, but the entire Northern region.
She said feat was made possible by everyone’s overwhelming support and encouragement. This support is an indication of the love you have for me to serve in this capacity.
“As new leaders, we solicit for your continuous support to succeed in this task; we will always consult within the chapel, as well as with the State Council and other stakeholders to achieve giant strides.
“In our tenure, we shall prioritize the welfare of members; we (the new leaders), will collectively be like the mother hen, who will be responsible for every member and ensure that each person is properly taken care of, to the best of our ability.
“ We will carry out journalism training and explore other capacity building opportunities for Chapel members, this will be pursued to ensure ethics and standard practice of the profession is upheld.
“We will do our best not to over rely on individuals and organisations for income. In due course, we shall run businesses to sustain the income of the Chapel. We intend to introduce a vibrant Cooperative, where members can save money and as well access loans easily.
“We shall set up a system that will address cases of misunderstanding and address misgivings among members. I promise to personally reach out to aggrieved members, if there is any, for a united body; We are better together than being apart” She said
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony yesterday A National Ex officio of NUJ Graba Muhammad said it is is time to move the Chapel forward. He tasked the new officers to carry every one along.
