Grace Ike Tasks Journalists on Regular Exercise to Keep Fit
…as NUJ FCT begins monthly fitness
Abuja (Core Reporters) The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, Ms. Grace Ike has urged members of the council to embrace regular exercise in order to keep fit and be more productive.
Grace made the call at the council’s inaugural keep-fit monthly exercise at the council’s Secretariat on Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Abuja.
She also advised journalists to engage in regularly check up of their vitals to stay physically and mentally alert to discharge their responsibilities to the society.
“Most of us have joint pains because we’ve not been doing exercise. You just go for field work. You’re seated or you’re just writing or you’re just doing one thing or the other”
“Find that time to go out to be fit, even if you can’t come to the council, please let’s find a routine exercise to do and do it within our community .
“Wherever you find yourself or when you need to go out on daily basis, keep fit, take that exercise. Do health walk and then try to check yourself. Check your blood pressure, know what you are going through. Not everybody you see, is strong or fit.
“With this exercise, we know those who will come up with issues like I’m strong or not.
“This is the first of its kind in the history of the NUJ FCT and the idea is to keep bringing everyone together for social events “
“I’m happy that the press week is coming up. We’ll have a team of doctors from Nizamiye Hospital in Abuja to also carry out medical check-ups for our members,” she said.
Grace described the monthly exercise, first of its kind in the council, as part of the new grounds her administration promised to break.
She urged members of the council to embrace the monthly exercise, every last Saturday of the month, as a way to boost their health system.
She said while the union was pursuing health insurance for its members, they also needed to do exercises to keep fit.
“So, NUJ FCT is setting the pace for journalists to be fit so that we can chase that news and be healthy.
“I know you were watching from behind. Most of the exercises we were asked to do, we were finding it difficult because we have not been doing this.
“So there’s need for us to keep fit because health, they say is wealth. So for us, it’s time for us to regain that energy.
“We want to be fit, to be able to chase that story, to go to the field, to have that noise for news,” Grace said.
A member of the NUJ Sport Planning Committee, Nkechi Onyeneke, described exercise as key to healthy living, saying “if you’re fit, you are healthy.”
Onyeneke advised journalists in FCT to embrace and participate in the initiative, noting that the exercise would be a continuous thing.
“As a journalist in FCT, if you’re not here, you are missing a lot. Try and make it next time, because we’re trying to keep fit,” she said.
Princess Halima Jibrin of the Correspondents’ Chapel, described the initiative as a milestone achieved by the current NUJ FCT leadership that should not only be sustained, but also be proposed to other councils to adopt.
“I also think that Ike should take it to the NEC, so that every chapter of the NUJ across the country should adopt it so that they will be fit.
“It’s not enough to stay behind the camera, behind the screen, all the time without knowing that health is wealth. Let us keep fit and be healthy.
“Health, they say, is wealth. No matter who you are, if you are not fit, you will not be able to enjoy what you have earned,” Jibrin said.
The former Chairman NUJ FCT Correspondents Chapel, Mr Raphael Ekpang also participated in the exercise as he commended Grace Ike led NUJ FCT led Exco for starting on a good note.
He urged members who couldn’t made it to maiden edition of monthly fitness to try and join in the subsequent editions, adding that exercise is good for the body and mental alertness considering the job we do as journalists.
