THE CONSTITUTION OF HERITAGE CLUB OF IDOWA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA
ARTICLE I: NAME OF THE CLUB The name of the Club shall be known as “THE HERITAGE CLUB OF IDOWAARTICLE II: THE PURPOSE OF THE CLUB The Heritage Club (formerly known as lords club of Idowa) is formed for the purpose of preserving our heritage, Idowa, being where we were born and/or where we spent a significant part of our lives; and as a vehicle to give back to our source in tandem with relevant laws, provisions and in the best interest of our community.
VISION To transform Idowa into a self-reliant community that youths and up-coming generations would be proud of and would be desirous to see to its continuous well - being for generations to come.
MISSION AND PHILOSOPHY To engage good methodologies and strategies to shape the future that preserves and enhances our heritage; embracing new knowledge and developing and deploying resources for the development of our community Idowa.
ARTICLE III A: MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS A.All Members of former lords club of Idowa B.All sons and daughters of Idowa who have distinguished themselves in their areas of endeavors and possess the followings: 1.Attained the age of 25 years 2.Outstanding personality and character 3.Self disciplined 4.Possess a minimum of Junior Secondary School Certificate (JSSC) 5.Not an ex-convict or involved in any dubious dealings. C.All non-Idowa sons or daughters who have lived for more than ten (10) years in Idowa and have been confirmed to have contributed positively to the social, cultural, political and economic development of Idowa community or (a) friend(s) of member(s) of Heritage Club with strong character and wish to be a member of The Heritage Club of Idowa possessing the criteria in article iii sub section B 1-5 above.
ARTICLE III B: PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBERS New members shall be admitted into the Club having fulfilled following conditions: 1.Submission of an application with necessary information completed through the Club’s website - www.heritage.org.ng. 2.Payment of dues after confirmation by Membership Committee.
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS The Club shall constitute the following offices for the smooth running and effectiveness of the Club towards the achievement of the Club’s vision and mission. 1 THE PRESIDENT 2 THE VICE PRESIDENT 3 THE GENERAL SECRETARY 4 THE ASST.GENERAL SECRETARY 5 THE TREASURER 6 THE PRO/SOCIAL SECRETARY 7 THE CHIEF WHIP/AUDITOR
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS A. THE PRESIDENT The President shall: a.Preside at every meeting of the Club. b.Summon members for emergency meetings and other meetings either on his own initiatives or in accordance with the decision of the Executive Committee or at the request of at least 8 members in good standing of the Club. This number may be increased as members of the Club increases. A member in good standing is one that has paid his/her annual dues till date. c.Monitor the progress and performance of each officer in relation to assigned duties with a view to giving the desired directions as may be needed. d.Serves as ex-officio member of all sub committees of the Club. e.Shall be a signatory to the account. f.Have the power to fine or pardon (in accordance with the constitution) . g.Have the power to call on any officer to account for his position. h.Have power of veto in case of deadlocks.
B. THE VICE PRESIDENT The Vice-President shall: a.Assist the president in all his/her functions. b.Hold briefs and perform the full role of the president in a situation where the president may not be available. c.Perform all other duties as may be assigned to him by the president.
C. THE GENERAL SECRETARY The General Secretary shall: a.Record and keep minutes of all meetings. b.Run the Secretariat of the Club and attend to all correspondence. c.Be the Chairman of the Membership Committee d.Summon annual general, executive and emergency meetings. e.Keep attendance of members and safeguard all Club properties entrusted to him f.Prepare agenda for Club meetings and gives notice to members, of place, date and time of meetings. g.Submit a general report of the activities of the Club at the annual general meeting. h.Perform all other duties as may be allotted to him by the president and the executive committee of the club. i.Ensure that detailed and secured information are available for members to access on the Club’s website.
D. THE ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY The Assistant General Secretary shall: a.Assist the Secretary in his/er duties as may be delegated and shall deputize for the Secretary in his/er absence. b.Coordinate every activity on admission of new members. c.See to the general welfare of members of the Club and shall provide information on any member on request.
E. THE TREASURER The Treasurer shall: a.Ensure that funds are paid through secured electronic means into the bank account of the Club. b.Double as the financial secretary by preparing and keeping a detailed statement of account, a copy which must be transmitted to the President and the General Secretary from time to time. c.Maintain a comprehensive account of the Club and provide a report at every meeting of the Club. d.Be a signatory to the Club’s bank account. e.Be the Chairman of Finance Committee.
F. THE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER/SOCIAL SECRETARY The Public Relations Officer/Social Secretary shall: a.Be in charge of publicity of all club activities and events. b.Be the Club’s image maker and spokesperson c.Represent the Club at every external engagements and report back to the President. d.Preside over the Social Committee and organizes the social activities of the club.
G. THE CHIEF WHIP/AUDITOR The Chief Whip/Auditor shall: a.Be disciplinary officer of the Club b.Implement all fines on erring members in accordance with the Constitution and keep records and substance of all recoveries for the Secretary General and Treasurer respectively. c.Audit the accounts of the Club and Chair the Audit Committee d.Ensure that Audit reports are submitted to members at the Annual General Meeting of the Club e.Only be mediated by the President.
ARTICLE V A: ELECTION a.Election of executives into the Club’s offices shall be held by November and they shall be sworn in at the end of the year or failing the 1st week of the New Year. b.The Executive Committee shall set up a 3-man Electoral/Care-taker Committee charged with the responsibility of conducting a free and fair election at least three month to the end of its tenure. c.The Electoral/Care-taker Committee shall ensure smooth hand over by collecting documents from outgoing and hand over to new elected officers. d.The Electoral Committee stands dissolved once the new Executives take-over.
ARTICLE V B: ELECTORAL PROCEDURE a.The conduct of the election shall be by secret ballot. b.A member can be nominated or self-nominate for any office and may be seconded by any members. c.All shall obtain prescribed form for the election from the Electoral Committee (EC). d.Only members in good standing can contest election and can vote e.Only members that have been cleared by the EC can stand for electoral post.
ARTICLE VI: TENURE AND TERMS OF OFFICERS a.All offices of the club shall be held for two calendar year. b.All officers can contest same office for TWO TERMS and shall remain in office until an Electoral Committee is constituted. c.Any officer may relinquish his office in writing to the executive committee with at least 30days notice. Any officer that relinquishes his office shall not be able to contest the next election. d.Any officer of the Club may be removed after trial and conviction by a resolution adopted by majority of members present at the meeting, should that member be alleged and found guilty of any misconduct. e.The newly elected executives shall within two months present budget proposal which shall determine how the Club shall run and develop.
ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES a.The constitution empowers the executive to set up committees as soon as they are sworned-in for the discharge of functions of the Club. Some of these shall include: Membership Committee, Social Committee, Development Committee, Finance Committee etc. b.The Executive Committee three months to the end of its term shall constitute and Electoral Committee. c.All committees may be dissolved along with the executives at the expiration of their tenure of office except the Electoral Committee which shall be dissolved once a new Executive Committee is composed.
ARTICLE VIII: EXTERNAL OFFICERS The Club shall appoint distinguished Idowa sons and daughters as life Patron, life patroness, grand Patron, grand Patroness, and legal adviser. They shall be supported during any social engagement within the Club’s capacity and on invitation.
ARTICLE IX: MEETING a.The Club shall meet virtually and/or physically once in a quarter or as frequently as desirable. b.The Club shall meet physically at least once in a year. c.The physical meeting shall be held in Idowa except otherwise decided by majority members of the Club. d.The venue of the meeting in Idowa shall be as may be decided by the Executive Committee. e.The quorum at every meeting be it online or physical shall be 1/3 of members in good standing. f.Members are at liberty at any time to have sub-meetings that would add value to the vision and mission of the Club.
ARTICLE X: FINANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY A.The Club shall be funded through internal and external sources 1.Internal sources: - This shall be generated within the Club’s members through annual subscriptions, levies, fines, internal launchings, members’ donation, loans etc. 2.External sources: - The Club may receive donations, grants, interest from investments, loans and other initiatives as may be approved by the Executive Committee.
B. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION -The annual subscription shall be decided at the general meeting of the club and by recommendation of the Finance Committee. -The annual subscription shall become effective on the 1ST of January of each year and expected to be paid latest end of March of the respective year. In this wise, notice of payment should be sent to members by the General Secretary three months before the expiry date with intermittent reminders.
C. CASH HANDLING In order to enhance smooth and effective management of the Club’s fund, the following rules shall be strictly adhered to. -All money received by the Treasurer shall be transmitted to the bank latest 24hrs after receipt except such falls on weekends or public holidays. -All expenditure shall be approved at executive meeting and authorized by the President. -All purchases must be backed with adequate receipts except where it is impracticable. -The Club’s account is subject to audit at the end of every six months and could be less as the situation dictates.
ARTICLE XI: DISCIPLINE a.Members shall give due regards to the President. b.Necessary power is vested on the president to enable him discharge his/her responsibilities successfully. c.Any member who fails to attend the virtual/physical meetings and did not submit any apology 24hrs before the meeting shall be fined a prescribed amount. d.Presence at each meeting shall be recorded in attendance sheet or electronically and minutes and shall be brought up to date e.The disciplinary committee is empowered to recommend for Executive Committee’s approval adequate penalty for member’s misconduct. f.Where the President and Vice President arrive late to any meeting the member appointed to preside shall not vacate the seat until he has finished the particular subject matter under deliberation.
ARTICLE XII:MEMBERSHIP AND BENEFITS Members of Heritage Club shall enjoy the following befits among others:- a.All founding members shall have the right to use the title “Founder” before their names at every event or correspondence associated with the Club. b.All founding members shall have the right to use the prefix “fhc” after their names and members in good standing “mhc” after their names. c.Any member in good standing who has wedding ceremony for son or daughter shall be entitled to a sum to be determined by the Executive Committee. d.On the occasion of death of aged parents (Father or Mother) , the concerned member in good standing shall be supported as decided by the executive committee. e.In the event of death of any member in good standing, the Club shall support the family with a sum to be determined by the Executive Committee. f.Recommendations of members in good standing shall be priority for consideration for any job opportunities provided set criteria are met.
ARTICLE XIII: AMENDMENTS All amendments to this constitution shall be carried out with adoption for necessary change/s either in part or whole by 2/3 of members in good standing present at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Club. The text of a motion for any such amendments should be circulated to all members by the General Secretary at least 28 days before the date fixed for the AGM.
COMMENCEMENT: This Constitution came into effect on the 1st of September, 2018
This Constitution was prepared by Messrs Kemi Moibi, Richard Oluwasanya and Kehinde Adelaja with edits by Dr Jimson Olufuye and endorsed by members at a duly constituted meeting of the Club on the 4th of August, 2018.