By Miriam Humbe
The Environment Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN) on Monday, elected new executives in an atmosphere that was adjudged as most peaceful and without rancour.
The election, conducted and supervised by the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, brought in Joycelyn Ellakechi Adah, Head of Content Creation at Per Second News, as the new Chairman of EMCAN for a two year tenure.
The NUJ highly commended members of EMCAN for the peaceful and orderly conduct of the association’s election, describing the emergence of a new executive as an opportunity for renewed unity, transparency, reconciliation and professional growth.
Samuel Adeyinka, the newly elected
Secretary of EMCAN disclosed this in a statement.
The election marks a new chapter for the Association following a period of interim administration.
The transition followed efforts by the NUJ FCT Council to address concerns within the Association and provide a fresh platform for members to come together, resolve differences and strengthen EMCAN as a professional body.
At the election, the Chairman, NUJ FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike represented by the Council Secretary, Mr. Jide Oyekunle congratulated EMCAN members for conducting themselves peacefully and responsibly throughout the process.
Oyekunle urged members to regard the election as an opportunity to put past disagreements behind them and rebuild the Association on the principles of unity, mutual respect, transparency, accountability and inclusiveness.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that both pioneer and newer members have a sense of belonging, while encouraging the new leadership to promote the collective interests of members and advance environmental journalism in Nigeria.
The NUJ FCT Council Chairman commended the Electoral Committee for conducting what he described as a credible and orderly election.
He encouraged EMCAN to strengthen professional collaboration among its members and deepen engagement with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), international development partners and other stakeholders in order to broaden and improve the reportage of environmental issues across the country.
He further charged the new executive to make transparency, accountability, members’ welfare and professional development key priorities.
Declaring the results, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Mr. Chidi Ugwu, announced Joycelyn Ellakeche Adah as winner of the chairmanship position with 30 votes.
Other members elected into the new executive are:
● Samuel Adeyinka of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) — Secretary
● Abigael Ifelayo of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) — Treasurer
● Zeniat Abubakar of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) — Welfare and Publicity Secretary.
In her acceptance speech, the new EMCAN Chairman, Joycelyn Ellakeche Adah, expressed appreciation to the outgoing interim leadership and the NUJ FCT Council for providing a platform for a peaceful transition and a level playing field for the election.
Adah appealed to the pioneer trustees and all members of the association to give the new administration their support and cooperation as it begins the task of repositioning EMCAN and strengthening its relevance within Nigeria’s environmental journalism landscape.
She said the new administration would seek to build an association that promotes professional excellence, unity, members’ welfare and stronger opportunities for environmental journalists to contribute meaningfully to national development.
Members who participated in the election also congratulated the new executives and expressed hope that the new leadership would justify the confidence reposed in them by pursuing initiatives that would benefit members and further strengthen the association.
The peaceful conclusion of the election is expected to provide EMCAN with a fresh opportunity to consolidate its professional identity, heal past differences and focus collectively on its core responsibility of promoting informed and impactful environmental journalism in Nigeria.
