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NIA LAGOS BGM2016
WHEN ARC. FITZGERALD UMAH EMERGED THE NEW CHAIRMAN
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On Thursday, 21st of July, 2016 in Kongi Harvest Hall, Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos Island. The spirits of Lagos architects were in high states as Arc. Fitzgerald Umah emerged the new Chairman of the state chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA). The opening ceremony of the event was braced by top architects in Lagos and the entire members of the chapter.
In his welcome address, the former chairman of the state chapter Arc. Ladipo Lewis, who was still the chairman before the election that produced Arc. Fitzgerald Umah as the new chairman was conducted said:
It’s with immense pleasure and gratitude to God, that I welcome you on behalf of the Executive Committee, and the entire member of the NIA Lagos State Chapter, to this Biennial General Meeting 2016, in the Center of Excellence Lagos State. This Biennial General Meeting of the NIA Lagos State Chapter is an event, where members are given the opportunity to take stock of the affairs of the Chapter over the last two years, and this time around a conclusion of the four years two terms of my tenures with the best friends and colleagues as fellow executive members whom you all know, let me acknowledge that whatever success reported today was a team effort and I value the unity, sacrifice and dedication that each individual Exco member gave.
After each Executive Committee Members and Head of Departments gave their reports, the end of the event was an election conducted to elect new executive committee members into offices for 2016-2018 tenure of which Arc. Fitzgerald Umah defeated former Vice Chairman Arc. Titilayo Adeleye to the Chairmanship position, and Arc. Adebayo Ogunmefun emerged the new Vice Chairman while Arc. Samson Akinyosoye won the position of General Secretary, Arc. Olukareh Bolanle Treasurer. Other new elected executive committee members are Arc. Abiodun Fatuyi PRO and Arc. Adebowale Fafore Social Welfare Officer.
BRIEF HISTORY OF NIA LAGOS STATE CHAPTER
The Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) was founded in Lagos on 1st April 1960, barely six months before Nigeria attained Independence from the United Kingdom. Initially called the Nigerian Society of Architects with only thirteen members at the time of its inauguration at the premises of the National House of Representatives, the professional organization had emerged from the modest beginning of an 8 member study Group of Architects which was formed in 1958 to carry out the detailed planning for the establishment of the Institute.
The fact that Lagos was for many years the capital of Nigeria attracted a lot of commercial activities and the Federal and State Government had huge investments in infrastructure in the city. It is no surprise therefore that a very large percentage of members of the Institute both in Government Services and Private Sector operated in Lagos and this accounted for the chapter being the most vibrant with the largest concentration of Architects in Lagos. Officers of the Institute were predominantly those who practiced from Lagos and in course of time it became expedient to create State Chapters from which Lagos State Chapter benefited in size and quality. Since 1984 till date, the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) Lagos State Chapter has produced 13 Chairmen and now Arc. Fitzgerald Umah the 14th.
In his speech after being elected as the new Chairman of NIA Lagos State Chapter, Arc. Fitzgerald Umah expressed his gratitude to the entire members of the chapter for voting him into office and thus thanked his campaign team for a good job done, while dedicating his success to the almighty God, he promised to work hard and maintain the consistency of the chapter as the most vibrant state chapter of NIA in Nigeria, and take the chapter to the nest level together with other new elected Executive Committee members.
