COSON Members @ 2018 AGM Ask Buhari To Immediately Sack NCC DG, Afam Ezekude (Photos)
Thousands of
members of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) who thronged Lagos Sheraton
Hotel Ikeja on May 10, 2018 for the COSON Annual General Meeting have
resoundingly asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately remove from office
Mr. Afam Ezekude, the Director-General of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).
The conclusion of the COSON AGM is that the creative industry has totally lost
confidence in Mr. Ezekude’s leadership.
When the
motion came up for debate, not one person from the array of musicians and music
industry stakeholders from practically every state in Nigeria that formed a sea
of heads at the over flowing Banquet Hall of Sheraton Lagos supported the
continued stay in office of Mr. Ezekude.
One after the
other, they repeated that Afam Ezekude has completely lost the plot and instead
of fighting pirates and other enemies of the creative industry, the DG facing
serious allegations of fraud by his staff is fully engaged in oppressing his
staff and fighting the industry he was appointed to serve.
The COSON
members in full voice condemned the purported suspension of the operating
licence of COSON, the most admired copyright collective management organization
in Africa and a major beacon of pride for the Nigerian nation. They described
Mr. Ezekude’s action while the matter was before a court of competent
jurisdiction as recklessness and impunity of the worst kind.
Other
resolutions passed at the AGM include the following:
1. That all
resolutions and decisions made at the Extra – Ordinary General Meeting of
December 19, 2017 and all decisions made by the Management Board thereafter be
ratified and are ratified by the 8th Annual General Meeting;
2. That the
reinstatement of Chief Tony Okoroji, in whom COSON members have full
confidence, as Chairman of the Management Board by the General Assembly at the
Extra -Ordinary General Meeting of December 19, 2017 be ratified and is
ratified by the 8th Annual General Meeting;
3. That the
COSON Management headed by the General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, be
commended and is commended for forcefully defending the interest of COSON and
its members;
4. That the
representative capacity of Prof (Sir) Victor Uwaifo on behalf of the members of
COSON in the Four Billion Naira action filed by COSON members against the NCC,
Mr. Afam Ezekude, Mr. Obi Ezeilo, Mr. Mike Akpan, Mr. Efe Omorogbe and others
at the Federal High Court, Enugu be ratified and is ratified by the 8th Annual
General Meeting.
5. That the
Audited Accounts of the society for the financial year ended December 31, 2017
be approved and is approved by the 8th Annual General Meeting.
COSON
Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji whose deep articulate and philosophical address at
the AGM received repeated thunderous ovations was formally presented with his
award for exemplary leadership by PMAN, Edo State Chapter. On hand to present
the award was the state Chairman, Comrade Willy Eghe Nova.
At the AGM,
elections were conducted to fill vacant positions on the Board. At the very
peaceful elections conducted by two top journalists, Mr. Biodun Kupoluyi and
Mr. Shaibu Hussein, the following were elected to the COSON Board:
Sir Shina
Peters, Mr. Ras Kimono Onwubayi, Ms. Kenny Saint Brown, Mr. Richard Cole, Ms.
Maureen Ejezie Uso, Mr. Uche Emeka Paul, Engr Sharon Esco Wilson and Evangelist
Olusegun Omoyayi.
At the end of
the eventful meeting, the COSON members sang, danced and celebrated a truly
momentous event and cut a birthday cake in honour of reggae star, Ras Kimono,
who just turned 60 years.
FOR COSON:
Chibueze
Okereke
Head,
Corporate Affairs
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