Members of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) have chosen Joseph Kadiri, a correspondent with Independent Television (ITV), as their new President. This transition follows the conclusion of Hassan Zaggi’s two-term presidency; Zaggi is a journalist associated with the Authority Newspaper.
The executive committee, elected for a two-year term, includes Rachael Abuja from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as Vice President, Kazeem Biriowo from Tribune Newspapers handling Welfare/PRO duties, Frank Ajufo from Vision FM as Secretary, Yecenu Sasetu from Kiss FM as Treasurer, and Uche Ugochukwu from NTA serving as Financial Secretary.
During the official handover ceremony, outgoing President Hassan Zaggi expressed appreciation to the association’s members for their steadfast support. He encouraged them to continue backing the newly elected executive team to ensure their success.
Zaggi emphasized the importance of offering constructive guidance to the incoming leadership, recognizing their potential for making mistakes. He underscored the need for a collaborative approach to enhance the association’s growth and urged members to assist the incoming officials as they assume their roles.
In his inaugural address, President Joseph Kadiri promised to deliver effective governance characterized by transparency and accountability. He expressed his gratitude for the trust placed in him and his fellow executives by ANHEJ members and assured them of prompt access to vital information to enrich their reporting.
Kadiri also praised the outgoing President, Hassan Zaggi, for his dedicated service to the association. He commended the Chairman of the electoral committee, Onyebuchi Ezigbo of Thisday Newspapers, for ensuring a peaceful, credible, and transparent election process.
Kadiri stated, “We thank and appreciate you all for finding us worthy to lead you. We assure you that we shall be diligent in carrying out our responsibilities. We will work to ensure that you get prompt information to aid your reportage at all times. We humbly request that you give us your maximum support to enable us to succeed.”
He added, “We have elected new leaders to pilot the affairs of our association for the next two years. Just the way you all gave me maximum support, kindly give the same to the new leaders. They are not super-humans, hence, vulnerable to mistakes and errors.
“It is therefore our responsibility to advise them in love for the growth of the Association. The new officials are our brothers and sisters; we did not elect them to disgrace them, hence, let’s give them maximum support and encouragement.”