The National President of the Amalgamated Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners, Repairs and Riders Association of Nigeria, ACOMORAN, Samsudeen Apelogun, has urged members of the association to return to school and obtain at least the minimum educational certificate recognised in the country.
Apelogun stated that this move is necessary to reshape public perception of the association and its members.
He emphasised the need to change the prevailing narrative that members of the association are mere touts.
DAILY POST reports that the newly inaugurated 25-member executive committee includes Kayode Showunmi as State Chairman, Muritado Yusuf as Deputy 2, Agboola Fatai as Vice Chairman, Are Fatai as General Secretary, Alowolodu Adeleke as Treasurer, and Olaleye Zacchaeus as Financial Secretary, among others. They are to serve a five-year term.
Apelogun, popularly known as ‘Allrounder’, in his address, urged all members with aspirations for state or national office to better themselves, noting that the association’s constitution requires that candidates must possess at least a school-leaving certificate.
He said: “We need to upgrade. The constitution of ACOMORAN stipulates that whoever wants to contest for any post must at least have school certificate.
“But when we got the report from the LOC we got to know that some of you do not have what it required to be a member of the state executive of ACOMORAN. We cannot see someone that meets all the requirements legitimately and ignore it to bestow the title on someone who is not qualified.
“We need to adjust the perception of the people about our union—that they are touts. Henceforth, when you want to hold any public post, you need to upgrade yourself, you need to adjust yourself. But if you are able to manage yourself and you’re pleased where you find yourself today, fine, but let it be at the back of your mind that it’s not too late.
“Anybody we want to put in the front should be the person that can represent us very well. The constitution of ACOMORAN is not written today nor yesterday, boldly written there it says that whoever wants to contest any post, right from the state to the national level must have certain qualifications.”;
Meanwhile, the National President called on women within the association to embrace leadership responsibilities, stating that the association’s operational structure has changed, with women now required to occupy 40 per cent of leadership roles at both state and national levels.
In his acceptance speech, the re-elected chairman, Kayode Showunmi, assured members of continued teamwork and promised to introduce more innovative ideas to advance the association’s cause in the state.
