The Environment Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN) has elected Joycelyn Ellakechi Adah, Head of Content Creation at Per Second News, as its new Chairman, following a peaceful election supervised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council.
Adah secured 30 votes to emerge chairman for a two-year tenure, marking a fresh phase for the association after a period of interim administration.
The election, conducted on Monday, was welcomed by the NUJ FCT Council, which urged members to use the transition to end past disagreements and rebuild EMCAN around unity, transparency, accountability and professional development.
Representing the Chairman of the NUJ FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike, at the election, the Council Secretary, Jide Oyekunle, congratulated members for conducting themselves peacefully and responsibly throughout the process.
Oyekunle said the successful election presented an opportunity for members to put past differences behind them and strengthen the association as a professional body.
He stressed the need for inclusiveness, urging the new leadership to ensure that both pioneer and newer members of EMCAN have a sense of belonging.
According to him, the association should focus on advancing the collective interests of its members while improving the quality and impact of environmental journalism in Nigeria.
The NUJ FCT Council also commended the Electoral Committee for conducting what it described as a credible and orderly election.
Oyekunle charged the new executive to make members’ welfare, transparency, accountability and professional development central to its administration.
He further called on EMCAN to strengthen collaboration among its members and deepen engagement with relevant ministries, departments and agencies, international development partners and other stakeholders.
Such partnerships, he said, would help broaden the scope and quality of environmental reporting across the country.
Declaring the results, Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Chidi Ugwu, announced Adah as the winner of the chairmanship election with 30 votes.
Other members elected into the executive are Samuel Adeyinka of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) as Secretary; Abigael Ifelayo of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as Treasurer; and Zeniat Abubakar of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) as Welfare and Publicity Secretary.
In her acceptance speech, Adah thanked the outgoing interim leadership and the NUJ FCT Council for creating what she described as a peaceful platform and level playing field for the election.
She appealed to EMCAN’s pioneer trustees and members to support the new administration as it begins efforts to reposition the association and strengthen its relevance in Nigeria’s environmental journalism landscape.
Adah said the administration would pursue professional excellence, unity, members’ welfare and stronger opportunities for environmental journalists to contribute to national development.
She also called for the cooperation of members as the new executive begins its two-year tenure.
Members who participated in the election congratulated the new executives and expressed optimism that the administration would justify the confidence reposed in it through initiatives capable of improving members’ professional opportunities and strengthening EMCAN.
The peaceful conclusion of the election is expected to give the association an opportunity to consolidate its professional identity, reconcile members and refocus attention on environmental journalism and its role in national development.
