The Desk Editor of The Post Newspaper and also founder of Atlantic Chronicles news platform, Andrew Nsoseka, has been elected president of the Buea Chapter of the Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ).
He won the election with 19 votes, while his challenger, Mbaku Jude, Editor-in-Chief of Divine Mercy Radio and Television (DMRTV), received three votes.
Twenty-two voters participated in the exercise out of the 34 registered members of CAMASEJ Buea.
Mbaku, who accepted the result and embraced Nsoseka at the end of the vote, had anchored his campaign on rebuilding unity within the association.
Nsoseka will be leading the chapter alongside nine other journalists, including DMRTV’s Station Manager, Joyce Mbong, as Vice President; The Guardian Post’s South West Bureau Chief, Shing Timothy, as Secretary General; and CRTV‘s Political Reporter, Albert Njie Mbonde, as Adviser.
Thirty-year-old Andrew Nsoseka, who is replacing investigative journalist, Abah Isidore, has pledged to revitalize the association and make it a respectable institution.
For the next five years, he will have the challenge of scouting for new members, and boosting the association’s image, to make it more lucrative for dozens of Buea-based journalists who are yet to join the association.
“I will do everything within my power to ensure transparency and also make the association a respectful one that others will wish to join,” Nsoseka said, adding that he would continue with projects that were already in the pipeline.
Andrew Nsoseka from Jakiri in the Bui Division of the Northwest Region has over nine years of journalism experience.
With focus on politics and human rights reporting, his outstanding pieces center on the ongoing Anglophone Crisis and society. He also covered the 2018 presidential elections in the country as well as the 2020 municipal and legislative elections.
Nsoseka began his journalism career at The Post Newspaper as the Buea City Reporter, before being promoted to Assistant Desk Editor and then Desk Editor in 2021.
He has taken over the CAMASEJ Buea’s leadership Abah Isidore, who is currently out of the country.
After Saturday’s election, Esther Qui, who headed a four-member commission that managed the election, said the voting was transparent and void of irregularities.
She thanked the candidates for exercising maturity in the voting process and urged the president-elect to take Camasej Buea to high heights.
Members of the electoral committee included Esther Qui, Teboh Shadrach, Evenye Becky and Shuimo Trust.
The supervisory authority at the election was the Station Manager of Eden Radio in Limbe, Peter Kum, who represented the National President of CAMASEJ, Jude Viban.
Mr Kum expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the elections, which has ushered in a new bureau to lead the Buea Chapter.
He also lauded the conviviality he saw among members of the chapter, attributing it to a recent “reconciliation tour” initiated by the CAMASEJ national bureau after the association’s general elections last December.
The reconciliation tour was aimed at settling differences between CAMASEJ members after a closely contested election that saw Viban Jude defeating Cham Victor.
Among projects that await Andrew Nsoseka at CAMASEJ Buea is the setting up of a chapter secretariat. The project has been delayed by a leadership void that arose after Abah Isidore’s mandate expired.
Now, Nsoseka hopes to give the chapter a new lift. He believes in working for the collective interest of the Buea Chapter and plans on reviving professionalism among journalists and making the association attractive to non-members.
Senior members of the chapter, including Teboh Shadrach, who was part of the electoral committee, coached Mr Nsoseka and his new team to strongly hold the ford of leadership and deliver their promises.
Teboh also called on all members to support the new executive committee to give the chapter a facelift.
Members of the new Exco include:
President: Andrew Nsoseka
Vice President: Joyce Mbong
Secretary General: Shing Timothy
Vice-Secretary General: Hope Nda
Treasurer: Nkengafac Eucharia
Financial Secretary: Emmanuela Siy
Assistant Financial Secretary: Ngunyi Sonita
Public Relations Officer: Antoinette Buinda
Adviser: Albert Njie Mbonde
