By VICTOR NWACHUKWU

Former Deputy National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Alhassan Yahya, has emerged the new National President of the Union.

Yahya polled 436 votes to defeat two other candidates at the Eighth Triennial Delegates? Conference of the union held between Wednesday and Thursday in Owerri.

He was announced winner in the early hours of Thursday by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Mike Ikeogwu.

The other contestants for the position of the president, Bamidele Atunbi and Garba Mohammed, polled 97 votes and 39 votes to come second and third, respectively.

Declaring the result, Ikeogwu said, ?By the powers vested in me as the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, I hereby declare that Alhassan Yahya, having polled the highest number of votes, is returned as President of the NUJ for the next three years.?

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Yahya, who works with the Gombe Media Corporation, is the first NUJ President of North-East extraction.

In an acceptance speech, he pledged to serve ?humbly and with the fear of God? as well as to ?uphold the Constitution of the NUJ with all fairness, equity and justice?.

He succeeded Chief Chris Isuguzo from the South-East, who served out two tenures of six years.

The new Deputy National President, Abimbola Oyetunde, who is the General Manager, Radio Nigeria Bronze FM, Edo, was returned unopposed at the conference.

By her election, Oyetunde, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the union, emerged the first female deputy national president of NUJ.

Other national officers, who were returned unopposed included the National Treasurer, Victor Ndukwe (former Abia Council Chairman), and Ronke Samo, the Vice President of B-Zone (Southwest).

Also elected unopposed was Eze Adiukwu, the Zonal Secretary (South-East) of the union. (NAN)

Update news