GJA national executives asked to step aside
Some members of the Ghana Journalists Association have asked their current executives to step aside for an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to handle the affairs of the association until a new elected leadership assumes office.
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According to them, the tenure of the current national executives led by Mr Roland Affail Monney had elapsed and that their continued stay in office violates article 15 (c) of the GJA constitution which states that: “All members of the National Executive shall hold office for a term of three (3) years and shall be eligible for re-election”.
This was contained in a petition signed by 34 members of the association in good standing to the 2017 Elections Dispute Adjudication Committee (EDAC).
As part of their reliefs, they have asked the adjudication committee to bar the current GJA national executives from entering the Ghana International Press (Centre).
In addition they are asking for the suspension of all administrative duties conducted by the executives in the name of GJA unless required to appear before the Elections Dispute Adjudication Committee.
In that regard, they have proposed the creation of a Council of Elders made up of all past GJA Presidents and a constitution of an Interim Management Committee to take over the entire duties and day-to-day running of the GIPC.
Excerpts of the petition reads: “It would be re-called that, the Affail Monney-led administration should have ended its tenure on 31st March 2016. But they flatly disregarded the dictates of the GJA constitution, and extended their tenure by one (1) year, under the guise of a baseless precedence of 'no GJA elections' in a national election year. In fact, this argument falls flat before any right thinking member of society because, barely two months after the expiration of an executive's tenure, elections could be held to usher in a new administration, without let or hindrance whatsoever.”
“Instead of seeking the consent of members at an (Annual General Meeting) AGM before such a major decision of extending their tenure for one more year, the executive(s) rather entrenched themselves before an (Emergency General Meeting) EGM of a sort, was hurriedly held on August 26, 2016 to hoodwink GJA members into accepting the extension of tenure.”
“That notwithstanding, the said EGM was null and void at birth. The reason is, contrary to Article 35 (b)(i) which stipulates that the General Secretary shall publish a notice for EGM, at least seven (7) working days before the date, in this instance, an Administrator published the notice with just a day's notice, breaching the constitution.”
According to the petitioners, led by Nutor Bibini Nutor of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as the chief petitioner, their reason was to help avoid flagrant disregard for the GJA constitution, "whence we draw moral grounds to serve the people of Ghana, as the fourth estate of the political realm."