WIKE’S PRESS CORPS RE-ELECTS YAKUBU CHAIRMAN, ABUJA DIGEST’S ACKA EMERGES WELFARE SECRETARY
By: Gift Olumuji and Jesulayomi Olukomogbon
Members of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister’s Press Corps have elected a new executive committee to steer the affairs of the media body for another three-year term, re-electing incumbent chairman Hudu Ekuga Yakubu of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) to lead the Press Corps.
The Corps also elected Abuja Digest’s veteran reporter and its outgoing Financial Secretary, Acka Aondohemba Wisdom, Publicity and Welfare Secretary.
Yakubu, who ran unopposed, polled 37 votes to retain his position for the second term, while Acka, who is rounding up his ùsecond term and also ran unopposed, got the highest votes at the polls, scoring 40 votes, to emerge victorious at polls held on Friday, 14 August 2026. at the FCT Administration’s Secretariat in Area 11, Garki, Abuja.
Abuja Digest reports that the final lap of the electoral process, which had eleven candidates contesting for eight available positions on the executive committee, ended weeks of transition activities, including the sale of nomination forms, candidate screening, campaigns, and manifesto presentations, which were held at the FCDA boardroom a day earlier.
Announcing the results at the end of the exercise, Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Usman Katun Umar of the Abuja Broadcasting Service (ABS), owners of Aso Radio and TV, declared Yakubu and the others winners, having fulfilled necessary requirements and polling the majority of votes in their positions.
Umar praised members for their participation and maturity while calling for continued peaceful conduct, even as he urged all members to put the contest behind them and avoid actions, bitterness, or triumphalism capable of dividing the group.
Emphasizing that election victories should not serve as a tool for humiliation, nor should defeat breed resentment, he reminded members that professional camaraderie must supersede political competition.
In his acceptance speech, Yakubu commended the electoral committee for delivering a credible and transparent process, noting that the team set a high standard for future press corps elections. He assured members that there were no victors nor vanquished in the contest, declaring that the collective progress of the Corps remains the primary winner.
Yakubu pledged to maintain an open-door administration focused on unity, professional growth, and member welfare throughout his second term.
In a chat with us, the newly elected Publicity/Welfare Secretary lauded the electoral committee chairman and its members for an excellent election which ended well without “inconclusiveness.”
Acka appealed to those who contested with others and emerged victorious to reach out to those they defeated. Likening elections to a football match, he noted that the spirit of sportsmanship is more appreciated when the winners offer a hand to those who couldn’t make it, even lifting them from the ground.
This is as he corroborated Umar, insisting that the victorious must be celebrated modestly, with attention focused on fulfilling electoral promises, but not descending into triumphalism, warning it could cause pain, bad blood, and divisions.
Other members of the new executive include Vice Chairman, Gbenga Omokhunu (The Nation Newspaper); Secretary, Omeiza Ajayi (Vanguard Newspaper); and Assistant Secretary, Favour Ishember (Daily Champion).
Others are Treasurer, Sarah Negedu (The Abuja Inquirer); Financial Secretary, Toyin Adebayo (Daily Independent); and Auditor, Abdullahi Mohammed Tanimu of Blueprint Newspapers.
The new EXCO is expected to be sworn-in on 31st August, 2026.
