The Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has banned its Chapels that are yet to elect new officers from attending the monthly State Executive Council (SEC) meetings.

Chairman of the Council, Omoni Ayo-Tamuno, who disclosed this at the weekend while inaugurating the newly elected executives of Today’s Top News Chapel in Port Harcourt. He said chapels that were due for election were given up to the end of February to do so.

Ayo-Tamuno said: “We said on or before the end of February 2016, all chapels that have not been organised should be properly organised. We are serious about it; from April meetings, any chapel that has not elected its new officers will not be invited to State Executive Council meetings and we are serious about it.”

He commended members of the Today’s Top News Chapel for being the first privately owned media organisation to conduct fresh election to select its officers and advised other privately owned chapels to emulate them.

The chairman said: “I am aware the Today’s Top News Chapel has on two occasions tried to organise its own, but we were not available and today, you have decided to do it. I think, this is the first chapel to conduct election of its executives. I want to commend you for doing that and I hope that other chapels will follow.”

Ayo-Tamuno regretted that majority of the privately owned media houses in Rivers State do not pay their workers, prompting irresponsible acts of most of their reporters during assignments. He lauded the management of Today’s Top News for the prompt payment of staff salaries.

He said: “I want to commend the management of Today’s Top News for the regular payment of its workers. We know that we have several private media houses and many of them have not been paying. I want other publishers to take a cue from the publisher of Today’s Top News.

“If you don’t pay our members, we cannot get our check-off dues and that is why we are worried. If members are not paid, they misbehave when they go out for assignments; they do all sorts of things.”

In his speech, Chairman of Today’s Top News Chapel of NUJ, Hyginus Obiajunwa, promised that the Chapel will remain up and doing in the activities of the union.

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