Professor of Guidance and Counselling at the University of Ilorin, Mary Ogechi Esere, has received the Fellowship Award of the Association of Professional Counsellors in Nigeria (APROCON) for her contributions to the development of counselling education and practice in Nigeria.
The award was presented to Esere on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at the Convocation Arena of Bayero University, Kano, during APROCON’s 10th Annual International Conference.
According to the citation, Esere was recognised for her contribution to professional counselling scholarship, particularly through her role as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Professional Counselling, the official publication of APROCON.
Under her leadership, the journal has been repositioned to improve its academic standards, visibility and accessibility, including efforts to secure indexing and abstracting in recognised scholarly platforms such as Boldscholar, International Scientific Indexing and Google Scholar.
The association said the recognition reflects Esere’s contributions to counselling research, scholarship, professional practice and knowledge dissemination.
The award was presented on behalf of the APROCON Board of Fellows by the association’s President, Prof. Osorochi Obi, alongside Prof. Ngozi Osarenren, Prof. Alfred A. Adegoke and Prof. Oyaziwo Aluede.
Speaking after the presentation, Esere described the fellowship as a significant milestone in her career, which she said had been devoted to teaching, research, professional counselling and the advancement of the profession.
She said the recognition also highlighted the importance of professional scholarship and quality academic publishing in improving the visibility and credibility of counselling as a profession.
The conference attracted academics, government officials and professionals, including Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who served as Special Guest of Honour; APROCON Grand Patron, Dr Olufunso Amosun; and Prof. Airat Folashade Sulaiman of the Department of Counselling Psychology, Islamic University, Kampala, Uganda.
The conference featured keynote addresses, lead paper presentations and skills-training sessions focused on the theme, “Innovative Interventions on Substance Use Reduction.”
