It was celebration galore at COSON House in Ikeja on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 as members of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) from different parts of the country met at the COSON General Assembly and restored Chief Tony Okoroji as Chairman of the society. There was singing, dancing and prayers to the Almighty as Chief Okoroji who was initially absent from the meeting arrived the COSON House Arena following the demand of the members and a long telephone conversation initiated by music icon, Prof (Sir) Victor Uwaifo, who chaired the General Assembly. Upon his arrival, Chief Okoroji received a tumultuous welcome from the COSON members.
The meeting which was attended by several icons of the music industry from different parts of the country resolved that the very sudden purported change of the Chairmanship of the Management Board of COSON on December 7, 2017, just 12 days to the EGM, under bizarre circumstances, be condemned and annulled by the COSON General Assembly.
The COSON General Assembly clarified that Chief Okoroji of whom the members of COSON across Nigeria have the greatest respect and confidence in, remains the Chairman of the Management Board of COSON.
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The meeting had the entire COSON building overflowing with stakeholders in the music industry and had in attendance such personalities as Prof (Sir) Victor Uwaifo, Sir Shina Peters, Ras Kimono, Kenny Saint Best, Azeezat Allen, Hon John Ewelukwa Udegbunam, Prince Biodun Eguakhide, etc. The COSON members commended Chief Tony Okoroji for his humility, maturity and comportment in the face of perfidy. They praised his vision and incomparable sacrifice towards the growth of the Nigerian creative industry and for making COSON the most transparent and accountable organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry;
The COSON General Assembly also commended the former President of PMAN for leading COSON in the middle of a biting recession in Nigeria to the building and commissioning of the magnificent COSON House, the first and only such property belonging to any organization in the Nigerian creative industry, an edifice built without any money from the government or any other institution, foreign or local and without any loan from any bank.
Accepting the decision of the General Assembly, Chief Okoroji said that he is humbled by the love of the members of COSON and holds no animosity against anyone as a result of what had transpired in COSON and that as a father he knows that in any family, what happened recently in COSON would happen from time to time. He said that even though he disagreed with the process through which a handful of the members of the Board conspired to remove him, he had decided before the call from Prof Uwaifo to move on and continue to serve the Nigerian creative community in his private capacity. He commended the members for quickly stepping in and resolving the issues and positioning COSON for much greater achievements in 2018.
The COSON Chairman thanked the members for their confidence in him and assured them that as a committed democrat, under no circumstance would he fail them or betray the Nigerian creative community.
The meeting also resolved that the sum of Two Hundred & Six Million Naira (N206,000,000.00) be distributed to members and affiliates of COSON whose names appear in the register as at May 19, 2017.