Ogun NAWOJ: My sin against NUJ Chairman was my refusal to be his puppet...Chairperson.

Ogun NAWOJ: My sin against NUJ Chairman was my refusal to be his puppet...Chairperson. 

My attention has been drawn to a decision by the executive council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ogun State, led by Comrade Wale Olanrewaju, to suspend me as the Chairperson of NAWOJ in the state and my Financial Secretary, Mrs Charity James, over an allegation of financial misconduct.

Apart from the fact that the allegation is baseless, unfounded and blatant lie, the purported suspension is a smokescreen and a feeble attempt by the Comrade Olanrewaju to cover the financial frauds he principally engineered.

Hence, the suspension is hereby viewed as a grave constitutional aberration, particularly the manner in which these allegations had been presented and prosecuted.

This statement is therefore issued to formally express my rejection of this constitutional anomaly cloaked in deliberate machination by the principal actor to mask the major roles he played in the so-called financial misconduct.

It is not only constitutionally erroneous but ethically jaundiced for a principal actor whose conduct forms a material part of the issues under consideration, to improperly assume the role of an aggrieved party, portraying himself as an innocent victim, while actively influencing and directing a State Congress to suspend the defendant.

This conduct is in clear violation of the fundamental principles of fair hearing and natural justice, as guaranteed under the Constitution and reinforced by the long-established doctrines of nemo judex in causa sua (no one shall be a judge in his own case) and audi alteram partem (hear the other side). 

A person who is substantially involved in an allegation cannot constitutionally act as an accuser, a victim, and de facto arbiter in the same manner.

For clarification purposes and for the records, I never perpetrated any financial  misconduct or misappropriation as falsely alleged by Comrade Olanrewaju. Rather, he is shouting himself hoarse with this allegation in order to get back at me for standing my ground against his impunity.

My 'sin' is that I vehemently refused to become a puppet in his hand that can be manipulated to suit his whims and caprices. It will be interesting for the public to know that Comrade Olanrewaju himself was the architect of the opening of a special bank account by the NAWOJ to clear the cheque of N5m issued by the Ogun Ogun State Government for my association.

Apart from that, he provided Ogun NUJ tax certificate and not NUJ CAC  Registration of 1978 to facilitate the opening of the account, and went ahead to provide a covering letter to that effect including a referral letter all in the letter head of Ogun NUJ duly signed by Comrade Wale Olanrewaju.  

At this point, Comrade Olanrewaju should be queried, investigated and prosecuted  for providing Ogun state tax clearance for the opening of an account for affiliate of NUJ instead of the NUJ CAC registration as being done by previous administrations in Ogun NUJ and other state councils of NUJ throughout the country including FCT, Abuja. 

When the process was taking longer than necessary, he enlisted the assistance of some top civil servants in the state civil service to ensure the smooth opening of the account at the bank.

When the cheque was cleared, he insisted that the money he personally lent to Ogun NAWOJ should be refunded immediately. He also demanded for a huge sum of money as his personal 'share' from the money.

To this end, a sum of N345,000 was transferred to him as repayment of the loan he claimed to have lent to NAWOJ (even when there was no evidence to back his claim). He further demanded that he should be 'appreciated' greatly for his efforts in the opening of the account, and I gave him a sum of N100,000.

Apparently disappointed and miffed, he rejected the sum and demanded that it was too small for his position and a ridiculous compensation for the pivotal role he played in the whole scenario. After much pressure and threats from him, I added a sum of N50,000 to the money.  Also, a sum of N280,000 transferred to him all in the name of compensation for the 'Yeoman's job' he did.

It should be noted, however, that this took place during the  cash crunch period of 2023, therefore, I had to source for cash pay part of the money to Comrade Olanrewaju.

Both the Ogun NUJ Secretary, Bunmi Adigun and Akeem Adegbenro were in the know of what transpired between me and the NUJ chairman. And apart from the money given to the NUJ chairman, every NAWOJ and non-NAWOJ members who traveled to Abuja for the NAWOJ national election benefited from the largesse, including Adegbenro who was neither part of NAWOJ nor traveled with us to Abuja.

It should also be known that it was from this N5m that my exco organized some programmes for NAWOJ members, while the balance of the money is currently in the account of the association.

As a leader of an association, financial records of all the transactions are intact, and I am ready to tender it to the general public.

I, hereby, declare emphatically that Comrade Olanrewaju's allegations lack any iorta of truth. It was a ruse and concocted shenanigan to actualize his threats to 'deal' with me for daring his authority over Ogun NAWOJ's purse. My only offence is because I stood my ground against the chairman's Oliver Twist's traits and protected my association money.

So, any attempt to procure a suspension through Congress without a full, independent, and impartial investigation into the phoney allegation amounts to an abuse of process and renders such action ultra vires the powers of the Congress.

Disciplinary measures imposed on the basis of misrepresentation, emotional manipulation, or pre-judgment offend both constitutional safeguards and the organization’s own governing instruments.

The attempt to secure punitive action by presenting a one-sided narrative is a deliberate subversion of due process and a direct threat to institutional integrity.

Decisions taken under such circumstances are procedurally defective, constitutionally unsustainable, and liable to be set aside.

Moreso, NAWOJ is an affiliated body to NUJ with its own national leadership, not a chapel subjected to the command of NUJ.

If there is indeed a case of misconduct by the state executive of NAWOJ, the national leadership of the association has the prerogative to hear the matter and set up an investigation and disciplinary committee to take a decisive action.

The State Congress is therefore urged to halt any action founded on this flawed process and recommit itself to strict compliance with constitutional provisions, internal rules, and the overriding obligation to guarantee fair hearing to all parties. 

Anything short of this would reduce the Congress to an instrument of injustice rather than a guardian of order and accountability.

Justice must be anchored in law, not sentiment; in procedure, not manipulation.