The ancient city of Irrua, Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo state was agog, non-stop, for four days as members of the Annunciation Catholic College Irrua Old Boys Association (ACCIOBA), installed Dr. Joseph Adonor Ohens, as their new Global President.
Annunciation Catholic College (ACC), Irrua, founded 70 years ago, and its alumni association, ACCIOBA, have respectively become powerful sources of academic, economic, and community engagement and development in Edo State, particularly Edo Central.
The old boys of the school and their families have ingrained in themselves an infectious spirit and commitment to making ACC a 21st century center of excellence for post-primary education in Nigeria.
Over the past four years, ACCIOBA invested more than 2.9 billion Naira to reconstruct the school into a modern secondary school, and the outcome is comparable to high schools in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The new ACC has an unprecedented network of solidly concreted roads, rehabilitated classrooms, science laboratories, school library, principal’s house, new academic staff quarters, corpers’ lodge, 20-bed medical center, sisters’ convent, center for entrepreneurship, poultry, fishpond, four boreholes, ultra-modern 600-capacity hostel, 800-seater student cafeteria, and a host of other completed and ongoing projects.
Prior to being elected global president of the association, Dr. Joseph Ohens was the pioneer president of ACCIOBA North America and Chairman of ACCIOBA Project Committee. He was directly responsible for raising funds, all over the world, to rebuild the school.
Sworn in with Dr. Joseph Ohens were Barrister Emmanuel Ogbebor, Global Vice President 1; Dr. Paul Ihensekhien, Global Vice President 2; Mr. Cyril Ayeobore, General Secretary; Dr. Solomon Ehiz Okonofua, Assistant Secretary; Barrister Monday Oseghale, Legal Adviser; Mr. Thaddeus Uhomoibhi, PRO; Mr. Victor Ebosele Oyairibhor, Financial Secretary; Dr. Michael Iyoriobhe, Treasurer; Mr. Stephen Akhalu, Social and Welfare Officer; and Mr. Rawlings Oseghale, Auditor. Dr. Paschal Isele, Dr. Ayemhenre Esekheigbe, and Mr. Paul Ufuah will serve as Ex-officio members of the executive team. They will manage the affairs of the association for the next two years.
A versatile journalist, legal scholar, and top healthcare executive in the United States, Ohens is an alumnus of the Nigeria Institute of Journalism. He bagged his first degree in law from the Lagos State University and holds a Master of Law and Doctor of the Science of Law degrees from the esteemed University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He currently serves as a Senior Vice President at the largest primary care health system in California’s north coast.
Dr. Ohens also serves as an adjunct professor of law, impacting knowledge in advanced legal writing and U.S. health system and policies.
The epochal platinum jubilee of the school began with a welcome soiree cum awards night on Thursday March 27, 2025 hosted at the Gold Royale Event Center, Ekpoma, the famous university town.
On Friday, the championship match of the school’s inter-house football competition for a trophy donated by the 1974 Set of the school was contested between Momodu House and Victoria Aleogho House, with the latter emerging the winner. This came moments after elections were concluded at a grand Annual General Meeting of ACCIOBA.
The events came to a climax on Saturday, March 29, with a public lecture delivered by Engr. Adams Okoene of the 1963 Set and an elaborate presentation of awards to deserving old boys of the school. Immediately following the inauguration of the newly elected executive officers of ACCIOBA, Dr. Ohens led the state governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, represented by Engr. Emmanuel Ehidiamen Okoebor, Edo State Commissioner for Finance, on a tour of the campus and completed projects.
Activities were rounded off on Saturday with a dinner party hosted at the Emery Vida Luxury Hotel by Ohens and a Thanksgiving Mass the next day at the school chapel.
The event attracted prominent Nigerians from home and abroad, top government functionaries, as well as Dr. Ohens’ schoolmates from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos.
