By: Admin.
The Association of Cross River Online Journalists (ACROJ) have elected new executive members to stair her affairs for a two-years tenure.
In the keenly contested election which had several members contesting various positions had publisher of The Parchment, Edem Darlington emerge Chairman to serve for another term, Editor-in-Chief Glocal Media, Umo Akwang as Secretary General, News Editor of CrossRiverWatch, Jonathan Ugbal as Deputy Secretary General while Assistant Editor, CrossRiverWatch Patrick Obia emerged as financial secretary of the Association.
Chairman Elect of the ACROJ, Edem Darlington in his acceptance speech affirmed his resolve to ensure that the association is repositioned for greatness. His statement reads thus:
“Dear colleagues, I thank you for the renewed confidence in me to lead ACROJ for another two years. I do not take this for granted in anyway.
“When we came in during the last two year, we had a great plan to reposition ACROJ and stimulate the media atmosphere in our state. But external forces spearheaded by the Cross-River State government under the watch of Governor Ben Ayade, for reasons known to them persecuted our members which led to several of us standing trial for years.
“We were not deterred, we moved as one people and ensured all our comrades who were standing trial were freed.
“Today, we are happy that our board of Trustee chairman, Agba Jalingo and other members who were fraudulently framed up by the state government have been freed.
“As we move on to the next plan of taking our association to the next level, we will be guided by professional ethics and principles guiding journalistic practice, while we will jealously defend our members and will never allow the evil of the past, repeat itself.
“By the grace of God, we will engage and work with many other professional organizations in Nigeria and outside the country.
“Sadly, our state has been badly bastardized by the Ben Ayade led government. It looks like it will take our dear state the next 10 years before we can recover.
“We call in the state government, to immediately put an end to the illegal wood logging going on in the state by close allies of the governor, immediately commence the payment of gratuity and pension of retired civil servants among other pending issues begging for attention.
“As the 2023 election approaches, we will engage aspirants vying for different positions across party lines, to ensure that the best emerge.
“To the politicians in the state who are already mobilizing thugs to perpetuate chaos during the election, we will expose them.
“I appreciate the spirit of democracy and sportsmanship exhibited during the election. Indeed, the process has shown that ACROJ members are descent and democratic.
“Lastly, let me thank our tireless Eleco, led by Comrade Amawu Cletus for a great job,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 2022 ACROJ Electoral Committee Chairman and Publisher of the EpistleNews, Comrade Amawu Amawu, who commended all contestants for the “competitive nature” of the election expressed confidence in their ability to pilot the affairs of the association effectively.
The newly elected executives will be inaugurated on Monday 25, April, 2022 at 10am Prompt in the ACROJ Office, #2, Marian Road, by Rabana Roundabout, Calabar Municipality.
