Four new organisations have joined the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (CANUK) in the run-up to the 2023 end-of-year gala dinner taking place in London on December 16.
Founded in 2005 to serve as the umbrella body of every Nigerian organisation in the UK, CANUK is set up to embrace all manners of associations, be they cultural, state-based, regional, student, sporting, alumni associations or professional bodies. As part of this drive to bring every Nigerian in the UK under one tent, CANUK’s current executive committee has set about boosting its membership by recruiting associations with a gusto.
CANUK’s gala dinner will take place at the Regency Banqueting Suite in north London and among the special guests who will attend on the night are the acting high commissioner to the UK, Ambassador Cyprian Heen and the chair of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa. Also, the mayors of Southwark, Haringey and Barking & Dagenham have all confirmed that they will be in attendance.
Kicking off with a red carpet reception at 5pm, the night will characterised by a three-course dinner, music, live entertainment, cultural displays, a raffle draw and plenty of dancing. Backed by sponsors including Providus Bank, Tropical Sun, Send, Ficoven, Ades Supermarket, Zenith Bank, Pedigreat House, Obaseki Solicitors, Kato Enterprises, Tilda Rice, USA Rice, Eniola Foods and Eco bank, the event will go on until the early hours of the morning.
In the run-up to the event, the CANUK executive committee has approved the membership applications of the Nigerians in Wales Association, the Association of Nigerian Housing Professionals UK, the Ilorin Emirate Development Forum and associate member African British Charity. Once they pay their membership fees, they will receive CANUK welcome certificates on December 16.
CANUK publicity secretary, Rose Graham, said: As part of our programme on the night, we shall be handing out certificates to all new members who have joined us since we assumed office in May. These include the Kogi State Union UK, the Nigerian Community in Cambridgeshire, the Ukpor Improvement Union and the Nigerian Community in Sunderland.
“When Dr Christopher Kolade, the former high commissioner founded CANUK in 2005, he envisaged that there were up to 200 Nigerian associations in the UK and wanted all of them to be members. We currently have about 120 members but buy the end of our tenure in 2025, we hope to meet the target he set.”
Toyin Solaru Balogun, CANUK’s social secretary added: “December 16 will be a night of fun, entertainment and merriment but it will also be a time to build on what we are doing in CANUK. Looking at the array of dignitaries who have confirmed they will attend and the number of associations booking tables, this looks like it will be an unprecedented and unforgettable night.”
Victor Aleva, the CANUK financial secretary urged everyone who wants to purchase tickets to do so by paying directly into the CANUK bank account. He added that they should do this pay making payments into the association’s Lloyds Bank account with the sort code of 301553 and account number 00224400.
Kindly follow us on twitter:@AfricanVoice2
