Mr Kris Atsaka, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) presidential aspirant, has pledged to push for a special media salary for media workers in the country if elected.
Atsaka, who is currently NUJ Vice President Zone D, made the promise on Monday in Makurdi when he received his nomination forms from the Caretaker Chairman of NUJ of Benue Council, Mr Vincent Nyiyongo.
The NUJ presidential hopeful promised to prioritise the welfare of journalists when he mounts the saddle.
According to him, journalists were the least paid workers in the country in spite of their strenuous job of educating, enlightening, and entertaining members of the public.
“There is an urgent need to place journalists in the country on special salary, and I will ensure that previous bills sent to the National Assembly on the matter were revisited.
“There is a need to lift the standard of the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) to be at par with other tertiary institutions across the globe.
“My administration will also ensure that IIJ gets funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“If elected, I will ensure that the institute gets support from other national and international organisations for training for members,” he further promised.
Atsaka said that he would exploit untapped sources within the union to shore up the revenue of the union for the greater good of the members.
The vice president advised journalists to devise alternative sources of income to survive the current economic hardship.
Nyiyongo, in his remarks, commended Atsaka for taking the bold step to contest the position of the president of the union.
The council chairman said that it would be the first time that Benue would produce the president of the union.
He expressed confidence in Atsaka’s ability to lead the union, having served at the state and zonal levels.
He urged all journalists in the state and the country to close ranks and work together for the actualisation of the ambition of Atsaka.
