Life coaches respect gender equality, elect 71% women into executive committee

Life Coaches Association Of Nigeria (LCAN) has elected more women to its executive team, including the president and vice president in deference to calls for gender inclusiveness and equality.

Chairman of the association’s 2022 electoral committee, Sola Oyegbade, made the announcement, in a statement, yesterday. 

Elected on July 31 in Lagos, the new executives include Omawumi Ogbe and Iniobong Josiah, who emerged president and vice president.  

Incorporated in 2006 by Dr. Lanre Olusola, a change catalyst, the body began operations fully in 2016. The elections resulted in 71 per cent of women being voted into executive and leadership positions.

Oyegbade said the association ensured that “a lot went into the planning to birth the new leadership that would take LCAN to higher heights.”

He added: “The result you all see is a product of a deliberate process intended to capture equity and inclusiveness. Women are no longer looking from afar, but are playing active roles in leadership today.”

The new president, Ogbe, is a certified coach, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner and Managing Partner at GLG Communications. She also served as Head of Branding, PR and Social Media in the outgoing executive committee.

She has been integral to the association’s executive committee since 2016, receiving a coaching icon award for her contributions to the industry.

The incoming vice president, Josiah, on her part, is a certified life coach, John Maxwell leadership expert and clinical pharmacist with over two decades of experience.

The outgoing president, Enahoro Okhae, stressed importance of women’s inclusiveness in all spheres of life, including the coaching industry.

His words: “As we all know, achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  We do not doubt that there is a flavour in leadership that is purely associated with women’s care, love and protection. I’m excited about this development and I delightfully look forward to the growth LCAN would record under a leadership largely occupied by women.”