The Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) has elected new officials to manage its affairs for the next three years in a landmark election conducted through electronic voting (e-Voting) on Thursday.
The election, which was conducted at the newly commissioned Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat, was monitored by the Chairman, NUJ Lagos Council, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi, and the Executive Secretary, Mr. Tunde Olalere and other officers of the NUJ, Lagos Council.
The election also saw four of the six candidates go unopposed except for the positions of Vice Chairman and Financial Secretary.
At the end of the elections, NITRA Chairman, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi (Communications Week) was returned unopposed. Also, the General Secretary, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo (eBusiness Life Communication Limited) and Treasurer, Mrs. Chioma Ezike (FRCN) were returned unopposed, while a new entrant into the EXCO, Ugochi Emmanuel (Techlife Media & Communications) clinched the vacant position of Assistant Secretary/Welfare.
However, the Electoral Committee voided the position of the Vice Chairman due to the absence of the two contesting candidates. A re-run election will be held subsequently.
Speaking on the election process, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Mr. Romanus Imah, noted that the Committee decided on the use of an e-Voting system because the Association should be at the forefront of promoting digital processes in Nigeria, also the fact that it wants an all-inclusive election process.
According to the Chairman, although there were challenges in the process, the use of the e-Voting system proved to be the best process in this era of digitization as it ensured that no member, present or absent, was disenfranchised during the election.
He thanked the Executive Committee and the entire membership of the Association for their cooperation through the period of the elections.
Also speaking, the newly elected Chairman of the Association, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi narrated the vision, aspirations and hopes of NITRA and challenged the entire membership to work with the EXCO to achieve the visions.
Mr. Onwuegbuchi noted that the task ahead is to build upon the achievements of the previous tenure.
While promising that all campaign promises by the new EXCO will be implemented, he called on members to come together to ensure that the Association takes its pride of place in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) ecosystem.
While inaugurating and leading the New EXCO members through the oath of office, Chairman, NUJ Lagos Council, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi, spoke about the need for NITRA to collaborate with the parent body, the NUJ, to tap into the numerous benefits, which include training and representation.
He further encouraged the NITRA membership to be more active at the NUJ monthly Congress.
The chairman assured the Association of his administration’s backing.
NITRA was inaugurated in 2014 to engender faster industry growth through collaboration with industry stakeholders on different fronts in and outside the country. The Association was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2021.
In the past years, the Association has partnered with industry stakeholders to bring enlightenment and public awareness with its monthly Breakfast Meeting with CEOs and its Quarterly Forum that dwells on issues that are topical to the industry. The breakfast meeting with CEOs has hosted the likes of Mr. Austin Okere, Founder of CWG Plc and an Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Business School; Medallion CEO, Mr. Ike Nnamani; former Rack Center CEO, Mr. Tunde Coker and the General Manager of MainOne Data Center (MDXI), Mr. Gbenga Adegbiji, among others.
The new EXCO has a three-year tenure that ends in 2026 before a new election will be conducted.