The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benue State on Saturday lost its newly elected Chairman, Comrade David Ukuma.

Ukuma who was elected on July 3 this year as the Benue state council chairman of the NUJ died about 5:00 am at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) in Makurdi after a few days illness.

Some officials of the late NUJ chairman's headed council have expressed shocked over his demise and prayed God to grant his soul a peaceful rest.

The late Ukuma worked in the state's owned broadcasting station, Radio Benue where he anchored a popular programme known as "Issues of the Moment."

Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom has commiserated with the entire media community across the country and the NUJ, particularly in Benue over the death of its chairman.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, the governor described Ukuma's demise as painful, not only to his family and NUJ but also to the state.

"Comrade David Ukuma was a promising leader and versatile broadcaster whose talent and selfless disposition will be dearly missed," he stated.

Ortom, therefore, urged the deceased's family and his colleagues at Radio Benue as well as NUJ to take solace in the fact that the late state chairman of the union lived a life worthy of emulation as he prayed God to grant Ukuma eternal rest and his family the strength to bear the loss.

•Sourced from a Daily Trust report