The Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has announced the reconstitution of its management board following the return of Tony Okoroji as chairman.
An extraordinary general meeting held at the COSON House on Tuesday returned the former Performing Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) president to his seat two weeks after he was forced to step aside by younger elements in the organisation.
Efe Omorogbe, who was pronounced chairman in place of Okoroji on December 7, has been dropped from the board according to a statement made available to Qed.ng on Wednesday afternoon.
Also dropped are Chocolate City founder, Audu Maikori; founder and CEO of Storm 360, Obi Asika, musician and filmmaker, Baba Dee, and Fuji musician, Adewale Ayuba.
Apart from Okoroji, other returning members of the board are singer, Azeezat Allen, and immediate past President of Music Label Owners & Recording Industries Association of Nigeria (MORAN), John Ewelukwa Udegbunam.
New members are Afro juju star, Sir Shina Peters; reggae star, Ras Kimono; drummer, Richard Cole; gospel singer, Kenny Saint Brown; President of the Music Producers & Marketers Association of Nigeria (MUPMAN), Sharon Wilson; highlife singer, Maureen Ejezie, and an Abuja based musician and label owner, Uche Emeka Paul.
The new board is to lead the organisation until its May 2018 annual general meeting.
Speaking in a phone interview with Qed.ng on Wednesday morning, Baba Dee, who championed Omorogbe’s emergence as chairman earlier in the month, said he and others will address the public soon.
“For now, the only thing I have to say is that the interest of musicians must be protected,” he told our correspondent.
CEO of Now Music and 2face Idibia’s manager, Omorogbe, added in a brief phone conversation that “we are waiting for legal advice”.
Okoroji also spoke with this online newspaper and expressed gratitude for the trust reposed in him.
“I was not even at the general meeting when it started on Tuesday. It was Dr Victor Uwaifo that called to say members insisted that I must come.
“When I got there, I was told the process of my removal as chairman was not acceptable to them. They didn’t even accept there was a change,” he said.
Already, there is fear that a lot of young members may pull out of COSON.
“Some members are already thinking of dumping the association,” a member who craved anonymity told our correspondent.
