Lagos Country Club Thursday night held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to address lingering leadership crisis that had plagued the club.
This crucial gathering brought together members seeking a peaceful resolution to the ongoing disputes, which have cast a shadow over the club’s usual vibrancy.
The EGM’s primary objective was to navigate a pathway out of the crisis, considering various motions to restore stability and normalcy to the club’s operations.
During the EGM chaired by Mr Igho Okor, a former vice president of the club, the secretary read out the report of the disciplinary committee, which was ratified by members. Also, seven key motions were deliberated upon and subsequently approved, setting the stage for the formation of a caretaker committee tasked with organizing elections into the various vacant positions in the club within two months.
The approved motions explicitly addressed the limitations of the Trustees’ powers under the club’s constitution, emphasizing the need for members’ ratification in key decision-making processes.
The newly constituted Caretaker Committee, which has Mr Adewole Gege as Chairman, Mr Adetayo Adegboye as Secretary, Barr Olawole Harris Isa as Legal Adviser as well as the Chairmen of the ten Sections of the Club, would be sworn in on Saturday, October 12, 2024.
The Caretaker Committee would replace the former Caretaker Committee set up on the basis of a Consent Judgment to administer the Club for a three months tenure and which would expire on Friday, October 11, 2024.
The LCC had been embroiled in internal crisis, which led to several court cases. But on July 3, 2024, Justice A Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, delivered a Consent Judgment after the cases were harmonised and the aggrieved parties decided to tow the path of reconciliation.
The consent judgment stipulated the formation of a Caretaker Committee to take charge of managing the affairs of the Club according to the Constitution for 90 days. Within that period, members alleged to have committed infractions were to face the Disciplinary Committee, after which the decision of the Caretaker Committee on the Report of the exercise would be forwarded to an EGM for ratification. The consent judgment also ordered that the caretaker committee conduct an election of officers into the Management Council to oversee the day to day running of the club.
While the Caretaker Committee was formed and members alleged of commiting infractions had faced a disciplinary committee, other terms of the consent judgement were yet to be undertaken by the Caretaker Committee before the expiration of its tenure on Friday, October 11, 2024.
However, adhering to the Club’s Constitution and in order to avoid vacuum in the the affairs of the Club members exercised their right to convene an EGM to take decisions to move the Club which attained 75 years in August, forward.
The members also expressed their disappointment with the conduct of the former Caretaker Committee charged to implement the terms of the consent judgment.
Sir Ladi Smith, a member of the club since 1985, noted that the EGM is an avenue for members to restore the prestige of the club.
“There is a wrong perception out there that some people that may be calling themselves Trustees are the owners of the Club, meanwhile the people who are the fee-paying members appointed the Trustees,” said Smith.
“So, we are the owners of the Club, and we have come together today to say that we are tired. The club has been in comatose, the services have been going down, and every day, we put off our generators by 10 pm. We have seen that some elements are just trying to drag the club back. And this is a club where all of us spend much of our time. I’m retired, so I come to the club pretty often. I don’t want anyone to come and spoil my retirement. So, I want to protect what is mine. And I believe that the members have now come up with one voice to say enough is enough. Let’s get this club back into action.”
The Chairman of Darts Section, Mrs Adekunbi Akin-Taylor, described the EGM as a necessity. “This EGM is a necessity because the club has been held on ransom for too long,” she said.
“We’ve been at it for so long, there’s been so many court orders, so many court appearances, and the court has given Lagos Country Club the chance for all parties involved to sit down and do things right, call for elections and keep the club moving. Unfortunately, tomorrow (Friday, October 11, 2024) is the last day for the Caretaker Committee that was supposed to do all the work, call the elections, and nothing has been done. And all club members are really affected by this. This is a social club where people pay their annual subscription to come in and have peace of mind. So, it’s a matter of saying we’ve got to set this club free, and we’ve got to get the club back to what we want it to be.”