[ Photo Left: Dr. Chima Uko Igwe, AAN Electoral Committee Member ]
The hall filled, temperature in heights and the zero hour winding down. This was the scene in Little Rock, Arkansans as Nigerians gathered on Sunday to elect new leaders of Arkansas Association of Nigerians(AAN). The atmosphere was tense as the different political groups made final moves to win votes for their candidates. Smell of 'war' fillls the air as a presidential battlefield unfolds. Presidential battlefield? Yes, as other areas were uncontested by divergent interests. The presidential slot was the only post that had more than one candidate, in fact it had three veteran politicians. The election generally went smoothly, but the presidential tug was mind-boggling because the popularity of two of the candidates Mr. Occy Ilodianya and Dr. Steve Izekor was about the same. It was a tug-of-war as desperate moves were made by all sides for new allies. The air jittered as the votes were counted, and breaths held as results were announced. Dr. Izekor defeated Ilodianya by paltry two votes. Dr. Izekor won but Mr. Ilodianya fought gallantly as an old soldier. All the newly elected Arkansas Association of Nigerians(AAN) officers are congratulated. ------------------- ------------------------ ---------------------

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ELECTED NEW OFFICERS FOR 2005-2007

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1. PRESIDENT
DR. STEVE IZEKOR

2. VICE PRESIDENT
MR. S. K. ORJI.

3. GENERAL SECRETARY
PROF. DENNIS O. BALOGU

4. TREASURER
MR. SIMEON OKOLI.

5. FINANCIAL SECRETARY
MR. SYLVESTER EGWIM.

6. PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
MS. KRISTY IKANIH.

MR. BASIL OKONKWO
MR. WALTER UMERAH
DR. CHIMA UKO IGWE
MR. FEMI ISEMEDE-CHAIR
( ELECTORAL COMMITTEE )

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AAN CONSTITUTION (excerpt)

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ARTICLE V:

QUALIFICATION FOR OFFICES

All candidates for elected offices must meet the following minimum requirements:
a. Must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth, nationalization or born of Nigerian parent(s), and by marriage.
b. Must be at least twenty-one years old.
c. Must have resided in the state of Arkansas for at least one year prior to running for an office.
d. Must provide a clean current Police Report.
e. Must be an active member of the Association for at least twelve (12) months prior to running for an office.
f. Must declare intent to reside in Arkansas State for at least twenty-four 24) calendar months.
g. The President, the Vice President, and General Secretary must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university;