The inkling to celebrate the independence of his birth country, Nigeria led Engineer Amen Omorogbe to side chats with friends including Mr. Sonny Moze, Mr. Adebayo Adegoke and Ms. Tina Oyarekhua during the summer of 1992. The result was the formation of a committee to organize the first Nigeria Independence Celebration in the Capital District of New York. Dr. Charles Nwankalo was kind enough to make his house available for the party held in October 3, 1992.
This party, which was a huge success, prompted many attendees of Nigeria decent to express strong interest in exploring the formation of Nigeria association in the Capital District of New York. Exploration meeting to brainstorm on the possibility of forming Association was held at Engineer and Mrs. Amen Omorogbe’s apartment with about 10 persons in attendance. Majority of those in attendance agreed to pursue forming an association. The next meeting was held at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Kaliku at which the Association was formed in the spring of 1993 and named “Nigerian American Social and Cultural Organization (NASCO). The late Dr. Sam Otitigbe was named the founding interim present and led the association from 1993 to 1994 until the first elected president, Dr. Ola Adewunmi took over the affairs of the Association form January 1995 through December 1994. The association’s name was subsequently changed to the present name “Association of Nigerians in the Capital District (ANCD) in the year 1999 to allow for a broader scope of engagement and activities.