By Ejike Emmanuel (200 Level)
The National Association of Political Science Students (NAPSS), University of Jos Chapter has elected new officers to run its affairs in the next academic session.
The election held at the permanent sit of the university, produced Thomas Sholmil as President, winning 254 out of the total 470 votes cast.
The post of Secretary General went to John Achigak who had 255 votes while Ameh Maji emerged as Financial Secretary with 258 votes. The Director of Socials position went to Dalap Gilliet who secured 279 votes as against her opponent’s181 votes.
However, some of the positions had sole contestants paving way for their emergence unopposed. Accordingly, Otsepa Filibia emerged as Vice- President, Pefwan Francis as Assistant Secretary General, Lohya Timloh as Treasurer, Ekwute Ogbonna as Director of Sports, Nwosisi Nnamdi as Provost Marshal and Benjamin Nongo as Public Relations Officer, unopposed.
The Coordinator NAPSS, northern chapters, Oghene Jude who witnessed the election described it as peaceful and thanked the members for coming out en mass to perform their civic obligation.
A lecturer in the department, Barrister Chris Iddo who also praised the conduct of the election described it as a dress rehearsal for the students on what to expect in the larger society.
He said elections are meant to prepare the students to respect democratic rights and allow people enjoy the dividends of democracy if they find themselves at the top soon.
However, a 200 level student of the department, Ogechukwu Moneme, noted that the election was not competitive as expected because there were many unopposed candidates. “This shows that the political consciousness of the students are dying.”, she said.
Members of the Man O’War Club led by the chief training officer, Kingsley Edem were on hand to provide security during the election.
The president-elect, Sholmil, who was highly elated, adjudged the election free and fair and thanked the electoral committee for a nice job.
He promised to alongside his team, work with the candidates who lost to move the department forward.
