Shokunbi Faults Olanrewaju’s Claims on Ogun NUJ Press Centre, Lists monumental achievements.

Shokunbi Faults Olanrewaju’s Claims on Ogun NUJ Press Centre, Lists monumental achievements. 

A former Chairman of the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Wole Shokunbi, has challenged claims attributed to the incumbent chairman, Comrade Wale Olanrewaju, regarding the condition of the union’s Iwe Iroyin Press Centre, Abeokuta, before his administration.

Shokunbi described the claims as inaccurate and unfair to past leaders, saying they failed to adequately reflect the historical development of the press centre and the contributions of successive administrations.

He made his position known in a statement reacting to Olanrewaju’s remarks during the visit of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, to the NUJ Secretariat in Abeokuta on Friday, September 25, 2026.

Adeola’s visit was part of his engagement with journalists ahead of the 2027 governorship election, during which he unveiled his proposed nine-point ITESIWAJU development agenda for the state.

According to Shokunbi, Olanrewaju’s account suggested that the secretariat he inherited was in a state of disrepair, lacked relevant records and had benefited little from previous administrations.

He, however, said that when he became chairman in 2012, after serving two terms as state secretary, he inherited a functional secretariat comprising three members of staff, a hall constructed for the council by the administration of former Governor Olusegun Osoba and a guest house built during the administration of former Governor Gbenga Daniel.

He listed other facilities inherited at the time to include the chairman’s office adjoining the Olusegun Osoba Hall, secretary’s office, library, newsroom and the Iwe Iroyin newspaper production office.

Shokunbi traced the history of the secretariat to the union’s former premises at Ibara Housing Estate, popularly known as Dele Giwa Press Centre, before its relocation to Oke-Ilewo in the 1990s under the leadership of former NUJ chairman, Comrade Demola Badejo, who later retired as a Permanent Secretary in the Ogun State Civil Service.

He also credited former NUJ chairman, Comrade Niyi Ogungbola, with the tarring of the premises and construction of the main gate.

Shokunbi said his administration not only inherited the existing facilities but also maintained and expanded them.

He recalled that the administration inherited a Toyota bus donated to the Ogun NUJ Council by the administration of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun in 2012, during the tenure of Comrade Tunde Sodeke.

He said his administration subsequently undertook several interventions, including replacing makeshift structures occupied by tenants with containers, constructing a perimeter fence and maintaining existing facilities.

The former chairman also listed several initiatives which, according to him, were undertaken during his periods as state secretary and chairman.

These, he said, included the introduction of customised union files; regular publication of the Iwe Iroyin newspaper with support from the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC); and the establishment of an Ogun State campus of the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) to provide journalism education for members without formal training in the profession.

He also claimed that his administration facilitated employment opportunities for members’ wives and relatives, including 48 positions with the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), 10 with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), 10 at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, and five with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).

According to him, the administration also facilitated the establishment of a journalists’ estate at Kobape, behind the new government estate, as well as 10 National Examinations Council (NECO) slots annually for three years through the intervention of a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Shokunbi further cited international training programmes in Ghana and South Africa in 2014, as well as professional training and workshops supported by organisations including DFID, UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, the Public Relations Department of the United States Embassy in Lagos and the Nigeria Press Council through the NUJ National Secretariat.

Other initiatives, he said, included facilitating Hajj and Jerusalem pilgrimage slots for members and establishing a newsroom equipped with a television, DSTV and standby generating set for journalists in the state.

He added that his administration maintained the union’s staff structure, recruited additional workers and ensured the regular payment of salaries, annual leave allowances and other entitlements.

Shokunbi also disputed the claim that Olanrewaju inherited a secretariat without records.

He alleged that, in the process of converting the building housing the secretary’s office, newsroom and library into the chairman’s office, official documents, journals, books, bound newspapers and library furniture were removed.

He said the materials allegedly affected included files on approvals, incoming and outgoing correspondence, payment vouchers, ledger books and awards received by the union.

The former chairman also questioned the claim that the secretariat had no chairs when the current administration took over.

He recalled that while serving as chairman of the NUJ Information Chapel in 2004, he facilitated donations of plastic chairs from various individuals and government offices.

According to him, the then Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Chief Sarafa Tunji Ishola, donated 24 dozen chairs; the Bureau of Lands and Survey donated 10 dozen; while the office of the Deputy Governor donated another 12 dozen.

He added that during the brief tenure of the late Comrade Soji Amosun, Senator Lekan Mustapha, an NUJ patron and member of Senator Adeola’s entourage during the recent visit, donated another 10 dozen green plastic chairs.

Shokunbi further recalled a N500,000 donation facilitated by Comrade Dayo Rufai from Senator Mustapha, which he said was partly used to purchase a generating set and additional chairs.

He therefore questioned what happened to the chairs before the current administration assumed office and whether they were among the items allegedly removed during the takeover.

The former chairman also challenged Olanrewaju’s claim of executing 26 projects at the press centre, urging him to publicly itemise the projects and explain their benefits to NUJ members.

He said the claim should be reconciled with the alleged description of the press centre as one of the worst NUJ secretariats in the country.

Shokunbi questioned whether the 26 projects included the library and newsroom facilities established by previous administrations.

He also alleged that the commercialisation of facilities at Iwe Iroyin had increased the financial burden on members, claiming that spaces and services were now being offered at rates substantially higher than those charged under previous administrations.

According to him, the situation had made it increasingly difficult for some members to afford basic refreshments at the press centre.

Shokunbi also recalled Senator Adeola’s longstanding relationship with the Ogun NUJ, saying his first contact with the senator dated back to 2012, when Adeola assisted the union during its National Delegates Conference in Abuja.

He further recalled meeting Adeola in his Ikeja constituency in June 2015 and said the senator had supported members of the journalism community over the years.

During his September 25 visit to the Ogun NUJ Secretariat, Adeola presented his nine-point ITESIWAJU agenda, which covered infrastructure, education, healthcare, security, agriculture, job creation, industrialisation and urban development. He also pledged to work with journalists as partners in governance if elected.

Shokunbi said the primary responsibility of the NUJ should remain the welfare and professional development of journalists rather than the comfort or privileges of its leaders.

He recalled that his administration established a trust fund through which members and their families facing difficulties, including educational challenges, could receive assistance.

He urged Olanrewaju to focus on the achievements of his administration rather than disparaging his predecessors.

“Leadership is not bought but earned. You cannot give what you do not have,” he said.

Shokunbi advised the current NUJ leadership to do its best for the union and allow future generations of journalists to assess successive administrations based on their records and contributions.