Mr Lawrence Akomas, the newly elected National President of the prestigious Umuahia Premier Club has pledged that his leadership would reposition and rejuvenate the club toward the realization of the objectives of its founding fathers.
“We are going to ensure a paradigm shift in the way we do things. It will not be business as usual.
“We have rules and regulations and we will make sure that whatever we do here will be guided by these rules and regulations.
“We hope to bring back sanity in the club and ensure strict financial discipline,” Akomas who is a Management Consultant and Trainer said.
Akomas was elected during the club’s 2022 National Executive Committee/Annual General Meeting in Umuahia alongside other executive members to pilot its affairs for the next three years.
He said that the executive would venture into some investments to earn money to be able to execute its programs and projects.
“We cannot afford to disappoint this array of prominent professionals, who have elected us to lead them.
“Therefore, anybody who feels that he is not prepared to serve selflessly is free now to opt out,” he said.
108scoop reports that Akomad polled 40 votes to defeat his rival, Chief Acho Obioma, an APC chieftain, who got 38 votes.
He appealed to members, including Obioma and elders of the club, to join hands with the executive to actualize the dreams for which it was founded.
“For me, there is no winner, no loser. We all won,” Akomas, who is the third national president of the club, said.
In an interview with at the end of the election, Akomas said that the club was founded over 30 years ago to champion the cause of development in Umuahia.
He described the present state of infrastructure in the capital city as deplorable and below the expectations of the club.
Also, the outgone National President, Chief Nnanna Achugo, said that part of the club’s programs included offering scholarship to bright indigent students of Umuahia origin.
Achugo also said that the club intervenes in community development programs.
He, however, regretted that COVID-19 scuttled the realization of some of the projects outlined for execution by his executive.
Nwosu urged the new executive to take pragmatic steps to make the club more relevant in the scheme of things, in line with the dream of its founding fathers.
He specifically advised the new leadership to strive to connect with the next administration in Abia with a view to drawing its attention to the critical infrastructure needs of Umuahia as a state capital.
He said that the club hitherto enjoyed robust relationship with previous administrations but regretted that the situation was no longer the same.
He expressed concern that Umuahia had suffered untold neglect, saying, “It is shameful when you compare Umuahia with other state capitals in the country”.
The Traditional Ruler of Ossah Ibeku Autonomous Community in Umuahia , Eze Joshua Akomas, said that the club was principally formed “to enable us to give back to the community that helped to nurture us”.
The royal father, who is a life member of the club’s Board of Trustees, urged the new executive to strive to make the club more relevant to Umuahia community, Abia and the country in general.
