On Saturday, the 22nd of July 2023, after 420 days in office, the Executive Council of Alexander Brown Hall for the 2021/2022 tenure finally handed over. The Executive Council was disbanded in the final ordinary meeting of the 2022/2023 Hall Assembly on the same day. The Hall assembly was also dissolved in the same meeting to allow newly elected Executives and Honourables to be sworn in. The 2021/2022 tenure was a particularly lengthy tenure, and it was filled; as all tenures are, with intrigue from the first day to the very last.
In his account of stewardship, the outgone Hall Chairman noted the successes and drawbacks his team experienced. He also pointed out some challenges and limitations that hampered the plans the Executive Council had, such as the cashless policy and increasingly erratic power supply to the hospital. In his recommendations to the incoming Executive Council, Mr Salami stated that the Executive Council functioned better if everyone involved saw it as a family and worked together towards a common goal. He however maintained, after it was stated by Honourable Babalola, that lapses and inefficiencies by Executive Council members should not always be covered up as they were ultimately responsible to the Brownites who elected them into such offices. The Hall Assembly deemed Mr Salami to have served the hall and commended him for a job well done.
The outgoing Speaker of the Hall Assembly, Honourable Marian Bazuaye also presented her account of service in which she also highlighted the challenges and achievements of the Assembly in the just concluded tenure. She noted that the relationship between the Hall Assembly and the Executive Council was sometimes less than cordial and issued recommendations to avoid such in the future. Honourable Obeya mentioned that the tenure had been chaotic. The Speaker however disagreed, stating that although the tenure had been a little more lax, it was in the interest of maintaining balance in the Assembly.
Five Honourables were deemed not to have served in the Hall Assembly as they did not meet up with the attendance requirements of the Assembly. Honourables are required by the constitution to attend at least 70% of meetings of the Hall Assembly to be deemed to have served the Assembly at the end of the tenure. The Honourables deemed to not have served include – Honourable Temabor Akemu, Honourable Uchechukwu Uzor, Honourable Bomi Oyefabi, Honourable Farida Oladejo, and Honourable Obianuju Ekekwe. Interestingly, two of these Honourables namely, Honourable Uzor and Honourable Oyefabi, are both Executives-elect for the new administration. We can only hope that this would not be repeated on the Executive Council.
Certificates were awarded to the outgoing members of the Executive Council and members of the Hall Assembly who were deemed to have served in the Assembly. Honourable Obeya was awarded for exceptional participation in the activities of the Hall Assembly.
To end the meeting, Honourable Akinjola moved for the dissolution of the Executive Council and was seconded by Honourable Nwankpa. Honourable Babalola moved for the dissolution of the Hall Assembly and was seconded by Honourable Okunola.
