Members of the Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASoW), Oyo State chapter has elected new leaders that will pilot the affairs of the association for the next four years.
Those that were elected on Tuesday during the election that took place at the conference room of the state ministry of Women Affairs, Community Development, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation, Ibadan, the Oyo state capital included Mr. Ayodele Adegoke (Chairman), Mr. Yunus Tunde Abdulkareem (General Secretary) Oladitan Salaudeen (Assistant General Secretary) and Olayemi Alabi (Treasurer).
Otehsr are: Titilola Awotunde (Financial Secretary), Tawa Tijani Abdullahi (Welfare Officer), Atanda A.A. (Public Relations Officer), Oluwatosin Obuene (Programme Officer), Zainab Akinyemi (Auditor) and Michael Godday (Students’ Representative from department of Social Work, University of Ibadan).
The election was witnessed by Commissioner for Women Affairs, Community Development, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Atinuke Osunkoya and the acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Christianah Abioye, former Chairperson of the association who were both represented by Director of Social Welfare in the ministry, Mr. Sunday Olaniyi Kolajo.
Others at the event included Associate Professor of Social Work in the department of Social Work, University of Ibadan and National Secretary, Nigeria Association of Social Work Educators (NASWE), Dr. James Ayangunna, Vice President (South West) of NASoW, Mr. Noah Omoyajo, Legal Adviser of NASoW, Barrister Tayo Ayoade and National Public Relations Officer of NASoW, Mr. Musliudeen Adebayo among others.
Kolajo who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner, Mrs. Atinuke Osunkoya s urged members to come together with a charge to set the pace.
“Our Commissioner would have been here. Because of the importance of this program, she said let this place be opened. Let us come together. NASoW started in Oyo state. We should not be a pace setter from the rear. The legacy of our past heroes should not be in vain. We have two people at the national level, the Legal adviser and the PRO. Don’t allow any sentiment to disunite us. On behalf of our noble ministry, I want to welcome everybody here for a fruitful deliberation”, he said.
Also, Ayangunna while speaking urged members to work harmoniously.
He said, ” two things brought me here. First to congratulate the new elected national officers in the state and to implore us not to discriminate. This is an association I owed dearly. There are many people who are dedicated to Social Work. There are many people who have contributed to this association. These are the people who should be honoured during their life time. Anyone that is coming on board, we want people who will perform”.
Omoyajo while speaking added that regional integration of the state under the South West region was paramount to him.
He urged members to work for success of the association at all times.
In his acceptance speech, Adegoke thanked members for giving him the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the association.
“Many thanks for your acceptance of serving in the Exco of our noble Association. The tasks ahead are enormous but with our collective resolve, we are bound to achieve great success even exceeding our expectations. As discussed, Tuesday 18th December is our inaugural Exco meeting date, I will appreciate if we can all attend the meeting with a kind of 2019 Planner which will serve as guide to our activities in the incoming year”, he said.
