By Efe Onodjae

The Urhobo Social Club Lagos (USCL), an active member of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), on Sunday held its Annual Thanksgiving Service, using the occasion to celebrate over five decades of survival, renewed stability and recommitment to unity among Urhobo indigenes in Lagos and beyond.

The thanksgiving service, which took place at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos, drew members of the club, families, friends and stakeholders, as the association reflected on its journey through challenges and transitions in recent years.

Speaking at the event, President of the Urhobo Social Club Lagos, Lucky Arhere, FCA, said the thanksgiving was not organised to celebrate any single milestone achievement, but to thank God for preserving the club and keeping it united despite difficulties.

“We are celebrating survival and stability. We are thanking God for making it possible for us to have been in existence for more than 50 years,” Arhere said.

He noted that the club had not held a formal thanksgiving service in the last three years, making the 2026 gathering particularly significant.
“In the last two to three years, we navigated several challenges, but today we are happy that we are back together again as one family. The fact that we are still together is what we are celebrating,” he added.

Arhere explained that the thanksgiving was also an opportunity to seek divine guidance, protection and blessings for members in the new year, while strengthening peace and harmony within the association.

The USCL president, who assumed office in September 2025, used the occasion to outline key priorities of his administration, chief among them the commencement of the long-awaited RoboHouse project, a permanent secretariat for the club.

“We have commenced preparations for the building of the Urhobo house. It is a major project and our focus area this time around. To start is the most important thing,” he said.

According to him, the project, which has been on the club’s agenda for several years, is estimated to have initially cost about N500 million, though the figure may be reviewed due to current economic realities.

“It is a continuous project. If we are blessed with the resources to complete it within our tenure, we will thank God. If not, we will still thank God for starting it,” he stated.
Arhere also disclosed that the club has recorded modest growth in membership since the inauguration of the current executive, with three new members formally admitted and several others indicating interest in joining.
He said the club holds its meetings every last Sunday of the month, rotating from one member’s residence to another, a tradition aimed at fostering closer interaction among members and their families.

In his opening remarks at the Thanksgiving and New Year get-together, Arhere reaffirmed the club’s alignment with the ideals of the Urhobo Progress Union, stressing that unity remains the strength of the Urhobo people.

“It is only by God’s grace that our noble Urhobo Social Club Lagos has remained steadfast, peaceful and vibrant. Let this thanksgiving mark the beginning of a new era of stronger bonding, peace, love and unity,” he said.