A former General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), John Odah, has emerged President of the Mount Saint Michael’s Secondary School Aliade Old Boys’ Association (AOBA).

Odah brings decades of organised labour experience to an alumni body facing the challenge of rescuing its 73-year-old alma mater from deteriorating infrastructure and other institutional pressures.

Odah, a member of the 1978 set, was elected at a Special National Convention of the association held on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at the school premises in Aliade, Benue State.

His emergence gives the association a president whose professional history has been defined by collective organisation, mobilisation, advocacy and representation, which could prove important as AOBA seeks to rally former students across its branches and set around a coordinated programme for the rehabilitation and development of the school.

The challenge before the new administration is substantial. The school authorities have identified dilapidated staff quarters and students’ dormitories, encroachment on school land, inadequate water and electricity supply and the reconstruction of St Luke’s House, which was gutted by fire, as some of the pressing issues requiring intervention.

These challenges have placed collective action at the centre of the new AOBA administration’s mandate.

In organised labour, collective strength derives from the ability to bring individuals and constituent structures together around clearly defined interests and objectives.

Odah is now being called upon to deploy this principle of organised collective action in an entirely different institutional setting: mobilising former students to protect, rehabilitate and modernise the institution that produced them.

In his acceptance speech, Odah acknowledged the enormity of the task and called on delegates to mobilise members of their respective branches and sets.

He urged all stakeholders to put their hands on deck to address the challenges highlighted by the school principal, stressing the need for a concerted effort rather than isolated interventions.

The appeal carries particular significance given AOBA’s nationwide structure.

The association’s branches and sets form an existing organisational network that, if effectively coordinated, could provide the membership base, advocacy platform, and resource mobilisation mechanism needed to undertake major interventions in the school.

Odah said he had personally gone around the school to assess its condition and had seen for himself the institution’s deplorable state. He pledged to work with the new executive to give the school a new facelift.

The former NLC General Secretary’s experience is also likely to bring an advocacy dimension to the association’s engagement with the wider community and relevant institutions.

Beyond raising funds, the challenges confronting the school include protecting its land and property from encroachment and securing sustainable infrastructure and utilities.

The school’s Principal, Rev. Fr. Moses Orti, had earlier made a direct appeal to AOBA to intervene.

According to him, the condition of the staff quarters and students’ dormitories required urgent attention to ensure that teachers and students live and learn in a safe, decent and conducive environment.

He also identified encroachment on the school’s extensive land and property as a threat requiring urgent action, stressing that preserving the institution’s assets was essential to its future development.

Water and electricity supply, he added, needed sustainable solutions, while AOBA’s support was required for the reconstruction of St Luke’s House.

Orti described AOBA as an important catalyst for the school’s development and modernisation; it was founded in February 1953 and has produced human resources who have contributed to the development of Benue State and Nigeria.

For an association now led by a former national labour leader, the appeal offers an opportunity to translate the organising culture of the labour movement into alum development: identifying common objectives, strengthening branch and set structures, mobilising members, building consensus, and pursuing measurable institutional outcomes.

The immediate task, therefore, is not simply fundraising. It is organising the association’s human and material resources around a defined programme for institutional renewal.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Pius Ochefu, reinforced the call for collective responsibility when he urged delegates to inspect the deteriorating infrastructure for themselves and work together towards specific improvements.

The convention also received the National Caretaker Committee report, which reviewed the circumstances leading to its constitution by the Board of Trustees, its activities, and its outstanding responsibilities for the incoming executive.

The report called for renewed commitment by branches and sets, underscoring the importance of a strong organisational base for the success of the new administration.

An electoral committee headed by the immediate past National Vice President, Mr Gabriel Labe, conducted the election.

Other members of the new National Executive Council are Michael Awange, Vice President; Samuel Yina, National Secretary; Michael K. Ogwuche, Assistant National Secretary; Anthony I. Oyih, National Treasurer; Ito Andrew, National Financial Secretary; Elijah Agaku, National Publicity Secretary; Ogo M. Otegwu, National Social Secretary; Pastor Guda J. Mishi, National Auditor; Mark G. Ibiem, National Legal Adviser; and Dr Emmanuel T. Amon, National Provost.

The new president thanked delegates who travelled from different parts of the country for the confidence reposed in the new executive and promised to justify the mandate.

His election also coincided with the feast of St Michael the Archangel, the school’s patron saint. In a message delivered on behalf of the Bishop of Makurdi, Most Rev. Dr Wilfred Anagbe, Rev. Fr. Vitalis Ioryue urged the old boys to emulate St Michael as protectors of the school, their communities, and the values of peace, integrity, and progress.

A High Mass preceded the convention at the school chapel.

For Odah, the new assignment represents a transition from representing workers through one of Nigeria’s largest labour centres to organising former students around the survival and renewal of their alma mater.