Olu Philips, NAEC Chairman
The Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria also known as NAEC, had an emergency meeting which led to an election for a new chairman following the sudden resignation of Mr. Olatunde Tajudeen Dodondawa. The erstwhile chairman of the association resigned his position on what he described as personal reasons.
Olu Philips, a correspondent of Channels Television takes over after winning an election which was witnessed by majority members of the beat association.
Shortly after his victory and subsequently resumed duty as chairman, he spoke with journalists over the development.
Philips assured members of the association that under his watch as head, he will run an all-encompassing system such that no member will be undermined while uplifting the association to the next level going forward.
Excerpts:
After failed attempt to become the Public Relations Officer of NAEC, you are now the chairman through an election process following the resignation of the former chairman, what can you say about this development?
I did not orchestrate the activity that led to my emergence as NAEC chairman. I believe so much that whatever God has ordained will be. Remember that this was not an election process it was a process that God designed for good and I can only hope that God will lead this association and give us the right direction to prosperity.
You have set record as the first non-committed member to become a chairman, what have you got to say?
When you talk about commitment, I think the biggest commitment has to with the commitment of the mind. I have always committed my mind. People have described me as erratic. Being erratic for me is that when I don’t agree with a process and I see that it is a constituted authority, when I don’t want to go against them, I pulled out. I do know what it means to oppose constituted authority because God is a God of order. He said pray for those who are in authority. He did not say pray for them if they are Christians, he did not say pray for them if they are Muslims nor they should be prayed for if they are pagan or juju priest. He said pray for them because he is a God that understands order.
No one can be blessed with order if he does not appreciate it. This was essentially what I want to communicate succinctly and quietly which a lot of people did not know. Silence cannot be misconstrued, in all of this, no one can say I brought you to this association or I moved in the direction that was opposite to the proportion of where the association was moving. I didn’t have anything to go against the association, I only have disagreement which I didn’t even share with anybody. It was something that I allowed as a process in me when I saw that the right platform was not there, I had to wait perhaps it is time for those things I have in head to begin to manifest maybe at a time like this.
How are we sure you will not resign the way the former chairman did?
Let us be cleared about resignation, you must have the right to exit and join association freely. But what a lot of people did not agree with is the process. Are there rules there, yes, are there processes there, yes. I will try as much as possible to be guided by the processes that allows for you to tender your resignation. There are two ways to do that, you either give them lieu or with immediate effect, but it must be written and documented so that in future the association cannot be sued. When you do, they bring out those documents and in turn sue the individual that he absconded and did not transmit power officially. The association does not know about some documents that might be on your possession. Anyone occupying the office can be probed and if found wanting even if he is on the run can be fished out for questioning.
There is an allegation that the former chairman was frustrated out of office, are you sure you will not suffer the same fate?
Frustration is nothing if you play by the rules, the moment you don’t agree with the rules, you call for an extended house with detailed explanation and make the rules open to everyone to take a look of what the rule says and make projections of what the house thinks about your opinion. Transparency is key.
You are from a broadcasting background, whereas past chairmen of the association are from print. How do you manage the association with array of people who are in the print?
First of all, it never came to my consciousness that the association has been led by particular joinery of media reporters which are in the print. Like everything in life there is dynamism. For instance, some people may have started as print, today they are online whereas some started as broadcast and today they are in print. What is important is the fundamentals of being a journalist because the training is the same. Today, we have lawyers that have become legal correspondents, there are some they have become business correspondents. Once you have basic training in the profession, you become a journalist.
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