Reverse Trend Of Hunger In The Country, NUJ Appeals To Tinubu

By Daniel Dafe

The National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), presided over by the National President, Chief Chris Isiguzo, on Wednesday, held in Abuja where deliberations were made on a wide range of issues.

A communique signed by Akorede R. Opeyemi, Assistant National Secretary, NUJ and members of the Communique Drafting Committee – Churchill Oyowe, Chairman; Abubarkar Musa Waziri -Secretary and Ayuku Pwaspo – Member, was released after the said meeting.

According to the Communique, NEC sympathised with Nigerians over the current hardship they are going through and appealed to President Bola Tinubu and his economic team to expedite action in reversing the trend of hunger in the country by addressing the rising cost of food items and other consumables.

Leaders of the union also appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria to put in measures to drastically bring down the cost of cement in the country, noting that the present hikes are largely artificial, “bearing in mind that over 70 percent of raw materials for cement are locally sourced.”

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“NEC strongly believes that the situation is adversely affecting a large labour force in the country, particularly those in the building and construction industry, and if not checked, could further dislocate the already fragile economy of the country,” NUJ said.

Continuing, NUJ called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to expedite action to ensure that the nation’s refineries are in good working condition in order to reduce the negative impact of importation of petroleum products on the naira and the economy, just as NUJ described “the poor state of Nigerian roads as a security risk and a major cause of the economic downturn in the country,” thus calling for their swift rehabilitation/reconstruction by the federal government.

Meanwhile, NEC approved the appointment of ACHIKE CHUDE as the new National Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

The union also congratulated Comrade Abdulrazak Kaura on his emergence as the President of Kaura Namoda Polytechnic Alumni Association.

The leaders also agreed that “stringent measures should be taken to curtail the abuse of press stickers by non members of the NUJ.”

Furthermore, NUJ condemned the attack on journalists in Edo State during the APC primaries and backed the ultimatum given by the Edo State Council for the replacement of equipment destroyed, payment of medical bills and unreserved apology to the Union.

“NEC commends Ebonyi State Government for providing a utility bus for council and approval for the renovation of NUJ Secretariat,” the Communique concluded.