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Members of the Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASoW) Oyo State chapter have elected new leaders that will pilot the affairs of the association for the next four years.
The election took place on Tuesday at the conference room of the state ministry of Women Affairs, Community Development, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation.
The newly elected officers are as follows: Mr. Ayodele Adegoke (Chairman), Mr. Yunus Tunde Abdulkareem (General Secretary) Oladitan Salaudeen (Assistant General Secretary) and Olayemi Alabi (Treasurer).
Others 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 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, a former Chairperson of the association were represented by the 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, called for unity of purpose amoñg members.
“Let us come together” he said. “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 a fruitful deliberation”.
Ayangunna, while speaking, congratulated the new leaders and charged them to stand against discrimination and uphold discipline and commitment to the couse of Social Work. He reminded them that “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 honour 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.
The new chapter chairman, Adegoke, in his acceptance speech, thanked members for giving him the opportunity to serve.
He said, “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”.