SAFOBA Constitution

PREAMBLE

We the members of St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association (SAFOBA) are conscious under God Almighty that we have a role to play in the lives and well-being of ourselves, only when we are effectively united and have formed ourselves into a unit and solemnly given to ourselves this constitution to rule and direct our actions.

SECTION 1: CITATION

This constitution shall be cited as Constitution of St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association SAFOBA)

SECTION 2: NAME

The association shall be known and called INCORPORATED TRUSTEES of St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association (SAFOBA)

SECTION 3: GENERAL PROVISIONS

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aims and objectives of the association are as follows:
1. To contribute towards the infrastructural and social needs of our Alma mater.
2. To aid members who are in need.
3. To provide links or channel of opportunities for members to grow in their different fields.
4. To provide the forum for free exchange of ideas for the progress of St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association SAFOBA.
5. To strengthen the connection between the school and members of the Association and to seek and advise on ways of improving the standard of education of the school.
6. To provide career guidance and motivation to current students at St. Francis College Otukpo by way of award, prizes scholarship, symposia.
7. To assist school leavers (St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association (SAFOBA) members) gain a foothold in their chosen trade and professions.
8. To support members of the Association in business, education, sport as well as in other life endeavours.
9. To promote good family values and to raise Godly seeds and breed a healthy nation.
10. To positively affect the educational system of our nation and promote education and health awareness to help address educational and health challenges.
11. The Association may start any other social or cultural activities, which conform to the overall objectives of the Association.
12. To foster good relations amongst members of the Association on one hand and between the government, donor agencies and the association as a body on the other hand.
SCOPE: The coverage of this constitution shall be limited to members of St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association SAFOBA
MOTTO: The motto of St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association SAFOBA shall be My God and My All.

SECTION 4: MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the Association is open to all persons who have attended St. Francis College Otukpo who are willing to participate in the activities of the Association.

The Membership of National Body is through SET/BRANCHES

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
1. Intending member shall apply for registration during general meeting.
2. The application for registration shall be through Set or Branch of the Association.
3. Intending member shall pay a non- refundable registration fee of One Thousand Naira (N1000.00).
4. When an intending member is registered, he shall immediately pay his annual subscription as may be fixed by the congress at the time of his registration.

SECTION 5: ORGANS OF THE ASSOCIATION

There are four organs of the association, namely, the General Congress, the Executive Council, the Board of Trustees and the Branches/Sets.
The General Congress is the Supreme organ of the association, and its decision(s) and resolution(s) is binding on all the other organs of the association.
The Executive Council is the second highest organ of the association, and its decision(s) and resolution(s) are binding on all other organs of the association where the General Congress ratify such decision(s) or resolution.
The Board of Trustees is an advisory body which duties and functions are provided for in section 6 of this constitution.
The Branches/Sets of the association are important organs of the association.
The Branches/Sets of the association are permitted to operate within the states and local government in Nigeria.
For any Branch or Set to be recognized by the National body it shall have not less than ten (ten) active/financial members.
All the activities of the Branches/Set shall align with the set objectives of the National Body.

SECTION 6: BOARD OF TRUSTEES

There shall be members of the Board of Trustees appointed by the association.
The number of the members of the Board of Trustees shall not be less than Five (5) members and not more than fifteen members.
The membership of the Board of Trustees shall comprise of all the past presidents of the association and other eminent members of the association recommended by the Executive and ratified by the general congress.
The Chairman and the Secretary of the Board of Trustees shall be selected from among the members of the Board immediately the Board is constituted by the congress.
The Quorum of the members of the Board of Trustees shall be present during the SECTION of the Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees.
The tenure of the Board of Trustees shall be three (3) years and renewable for another term of three years.
The Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees shall hold office for a single Term of Three years and may re- contest for a second time after which he may not be qualified to contest the same office until after another three (3) years of leaving office.
No member(s) of the Board of Trustees is qualified to contest or hold office after second term.
The duty of the Board of Trustees are as follows:
1. To advise the Executive and the general congress on sensitive matters.
2. To function as a link between the association and the Proprietor of the school.
3. To help the association achieve its set objectives.
Notwithstanding the above, the Trustee shall cease to hold office if he:
1. Resigns his office.
2. Ceases to be a member of the registered Trustee of the Association.
3. Becomes insane.
4. Is officially declared bankrupt.
5. Is convicted of a criminal offence involving dishonesty by a Court of competent authority.
6. Is recommended for removal from office by the Board of Trustees’ majority votes present at any of the Board of Trustees General Meeting.
Upon a vacancy occurring in the number of Trustees, a general meeting shall be held to appoint another eligible member of the Association.

SECTION 7: COMMON SEAL

The Incorporated Trustees shall have a common seal.
Such common seal shall be kept in the custody of the Secretary who shall produce it when the Trustees require it.
All documents to be executed by the Trustees shall be signed by the President and Secretary and sealed with the common seal.

SECTION 8: OFFICIALS

The officers of St. Francis College Otukpo Old Boys Association (SAFOBA) shall include the followings:
1. President
2. Vice President
3. Secretary
4. Assistant Secretary
5. Financial Secretary
6. Treasurer
7. Public Relations Officer (PRO)
8. Provost
9. Welfare Officer
10. Legal Adviser
11. Auditors
PRESIDENT
1. There shall be a President for the Association.
2. The President presides over all Annual General, Executive and Emergency Meetings of the Association.
3. He convenes all meetings in liaison with the public Relations officer.
4. He coordinates the activities of the Association.
5. He is the Chief Spokesman of the Association in all external matters.
6. He is one of the Signatories to the bank Account of the Association.
VICE PRESIDENT
1. There shall be a vice President for the Association.
2. He performs all the duties of the President whenever the President is absent or indisposed to act except being a signatory to the association’s account.
3. He performs other function as may be given to him by the President as provided for in the constitution.
SECRETARY
1. There shall be a Secretary for the Association.
2. He takes the minutes of the Association Proceedings during General, Executive and Emergency Meetings.
3. He is in charge of the correspondences of the Association.
4. At the end of every year, he prepares an annual report of the Association’s activities and shall read it out to the hearing of all members.
5. Keeps all important documents of the Association and conduct other function that may be assigned to him by the President or General Congress.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
1. There shall be an Assistant Secretary for the Association.
2. He performs all the duties of Secretary in his absence or when he is indisposed to act.
3. He helps the secretary to perform his duty and conduct other assignments that may be given to him in the interest of the association.
FINANCIAL SECRTARY
1. There shall be the office of the Financial Secretary for the association.
2. He collects and records monthly dues, registration fees, levies and all other monies accruing to the Association.
3. He shall transfer all such monies received to the Treasurer within 24 hours of receiving such monies.
4. He shall render the financial reports as statement of account of Association during each meeting and when the need arises.
5. He is one of the signatories to the account of the association.
6. He shall issue receipt(s) and append his signature to every financial transaction involving the Association.
7. He shall provide or make available all financial records to the Auditors when the need arises.
TREASURER
1. There shall be a Treasurer for the Association.
2. He is in charge of all monies accruing to the association.
3. He is one of the signatories to the Association’s bank Account.
4. He pays all monies accruing to Association into bank Account within 48 hours of such collection.
5. He shall disburse the Association’s money as the occasion demands, but only on a written approval of such disbursement signed by the President and Financial Secretary.
6. He shall keep an imprest of Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000. 00) in case of emergency or such amount of imprest as the association may fix from time to time.
PUBLIC RELATION OFFICER
1. There shall be a Public Relation Officer for the Association.
2. Communicates to all members of the Association about meeting and other activities of the Association.
3. Issues notices and makes pronouncements on behalf of Association.
4. Conduct other public relations activities as may be directed by the President or the General house.
PROVOST
1. There shall be provost for the Association.
2. He shall be responsible for the maintenance of peace and order during meeting(s) and other activities of the Association.
3. He collects fines from members and hands same over to the Financial Secretary during proceeding(s).
4. He coordinates social activities of the association
WELFARE OFFICER
1. There shall be welfare officer(s) for the association.
2. Oversees the Association's functions and social activities (b)Takes care of the welfare of the members during meetings and other occasions.
LEGAL ADVISER
1. He shall be a lawyer who has been duly called to the Nigerian Bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria with at least Five (5) years post call experience.
2. He advises the Association on legal matters.
3. He shall represent or protect the interest of the Association in Courts, Tribunals, Judicial Enquiries or proceeding provided that the Association shall offset bills arising there from.
4. He shall represent or advise the association on external cases involving individual member of the Association until the case is determined. The Association shall assist in the settlement of such bills using her discretion.
5. The office of the legal adviser shall be by appointment by the congress and shall not be subject of election, but by mere nomination by any member of the association during congress and by ratification by majority votes during congress meeting and shall be removed from office in the same way.

SECTION 9: NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (NEC)

There shall be National Executive Council which will have all the Sets and Branches Presidents as automatic members.
The NEC shall be presided over by the National President and other national executive members as members of the NEC.
For active participation, the NEC shall hold its meeting quarterly or as the situation demands.
All decisions of the NEC, ratified by the general congress are binding on sets and branches.

SECTION 10: MEETINGS

For the effective administration of the association, there shall be the following meetings:
1. National Executive meeting.
2. Annual General Meeting (AGM).
3. Emergency Meeting.
Notice of meetings shall be communicated to all the members concerned for the outcome and resolutions to be valid and ratified.
Meetings can hold physically as well as online/virtual depending on which is appropriate at a particular point in time.
All meetings held physically or virtually (online) are equally valid.

SECTION 11: SOURCE OF INCOME

The sources of income for the Association shall include:
1. Registration fees.
2. Annual Subscription from SETs/Branches.
3. Fund Raising.
4. Donations/gifts
These sources shall be applied to Finance in section 19 of this constitution.

SECTION12: DISBURSEMENTANDAPPLICATIONOF FUNDS

The income and property of the Association derived shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objectives of the Association.
The income and property of the association shall not be paid, used or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividends, interests, bonds or otherwise howsoever to the members of the Association for personal businesses or gains.
The association shall defray or upset all expenses, charges or costs incidental to the administration and management of the association.

SECTION 13: KEEPING OF ACCOUNT

The Association shall operate savings/current account with any bank as agreed by the General Congress.
The Signatories of the Association bank account shall be the President, Secretary and Financial Secretary.
Any two(2) of the signatories shall be sufficient for withdrawals.
The Treasurer shall keep an imprest of Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000,00) in case of emergency or such amount of imprest as the association may deem to fix from time to time.
All the money accruing to the Association shall be lodged in the Association’s bank account within forty-eight (48) hours of collection.
The Association shall maintain the accurate keeping of record(s) of all income and expenditure.

SECTION 14: APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR(S)

The General Congress shall appoint Qualified and Licensed Auditors to audit the financial record of the Association annually and submit the audited report to the Annual General Meeting of the Association.
The Audited financial statements (Balance sheet and income and expenditure account) duly certified by independent auditors shall be annexed to the annual returns and file with the corporate Affairs Commission.

SECTION 15: TENURE OF OFFICE

The tenure of office of elected officers shall be Two (2) year term.
An officer can be re-elected for another term in the same office or for a different office.

SECTION 16: ELECTIONS AND ITS CONDUCT

General elections shall be conducted once in two years at the expiration of each tenure.
Candidate vying for any office must be duly registered and shall be financially up to date with the association.
A Five-man electoral commission shall be appointed by the general congress to conduct and monitor election procedures.
The Electoral Commission shall map out guidelines for the conduct of the election.
Members of the Electoral Commission shall not vote or be voted for during the election.
There shall be no canvassing for vote during election.
The Electoral Commission shall communicate the date, time, guidelines and procedures of the elections to Branches and sets of the association.
The venue for the election shall be St. Francis College, Otukpo, Benue State.
The election shall be by representation of three delegates from each of the sets/branches to form the Electoral College.
The three delegates from the various sets/branches are the only eligible voters during the election, all other members of the association that are not delegates are observers.
Voting shall be by secret ballot system.

SECTION 17: VACANCY OF OFFICE.

When an office becomes vacant, the post of such an officer shall be occupied by the assistant. However, if there is no assistant, the Executives in the interim, shall appoint someone to act in that office pending when a bye election shall be conducted.
A person appointed by the Executives to act in a vacant office, shall act not more than one year.

SECTION 18: TERMINATION OF OFFICE

An officer shall cease to hold an office if he:
1. Dies.
2. Resigns.
3. Is transferred to a distant place and can no longer act.
4. Is physically or mentally unable to discharge his official duties.
5. Has a vote of no confidence passed on him by motion from a member during the congress and a vote of simple majority passed against him by the congress.
6. Ceases to be a member of the association.
7. Is convicted of a serious criminal offence.
8. Alters or conducts himself in a way considered to be against or inconsistent with the association.

SECTION 19: FINANCE

The sources of income of the association shall include:
1. Yearly subscription.
2. Levies/fines.
3. Gifts.
Every set/branch shall pay a yearly subscription which shall be determined and fixed from time to time by the congress during the congress meeting.
The association shall open and maintain a savings Account with any reputable bank in Idoma Land. All monies accruing to the association shall be lodged in the said Account.
The signatories to the said Account shall be the President, the Secretary and the Financial Secretary.
The president and any one of the other signatories shall be sufficient authority to withdraw from the said Account.
The Treasurer shall consult with the Financial Secretary to give yearly financial report to the general congress.
The Auditors shall audit the account of the association yearly.
Where the congress is not satisfied with the audit report of the auditors, an Audit Committee shall be set up by the congress to Audit the account of the association.
The Treasurer shall maintain imprest of Ten Thousand Naira (N10, 000.00) only.
The treasurer shall lodge all monies accruable to the association into the bank within 48 hours and maintain only the imprest mentioned in paragraph nine (9).
It shall amount to a gross misconduct and an impeachable offence on the part of the Treasurer if he violates or breaches paragraphs 9 and 10 of this section.

SECTION 20: WELFARE BENEFIT(S)

A member shall be entitled to be honoured by the association on the following grounds:
1. Marriage.
2. Other important Occasions.
A member’s invitation shall not be honoured by the association if he is not financially up to date with the association.
A member is entitled to be honoured by the association per one invitation in Twelve Calendar month.

SECTION 21: DEATH BENEFIT(S)

A member is entitled to the following burial benefits:
1. A sum of Fifty Thousand Naira (N50, 000.00) only shall be presented to the deceased member’s family as contribution for the purchase of coffin/casket.
2. The amount stated in paragraph (a.) is subject to review from time to time by the congress and shall be collected from members in form of levies/donations as it shall be determined by the congress from time to time.
3. Attendance of the above function is compulsory for all members as defaulters shall be punished accordingly by the executives unless with reasonable and compelling excuses.
A deceased member is entitled to the above benefit if he is financially up to date with the association.

SECTION 22: GENERAL CONGRESS AND REGULATIONS

There shall be general congress once a year either at Easter or Christmas.
The day, time and venue for the meeting shall be fixed by the executive and to be communicated to the members.
Meetings shall be presided over by the President.
The vice president or any other members of the Executive duly appointed by the general congress in the absence of the president may preside over any scheduled meetings.
Attendance to the general congress is mandatory for all members.
Late coming and Noise making are prohibited during the general congress.
Social media (WhatsApp) meeting is to be held when necessary and resolutions there from shall be binding on all members.
Social media meeting is to be held only when notice of such meeting(s) is sent or made available to members prior to such meeting(s).

SECTION 23: PROJECT EXECUTION

The national body shall have the obligation of project execution to our alma mater.
Every administration shall carry-out a minimum of one project in Saint Francis College Otukpo, Benue State.
The project and budget proposal shall be approved by the general congress.
The failure of any administration to carry-out a project within the period stated in sub-section two (2) above shall lead to a vote of no confidence and impeachment.

SECTION 24: ADDENDUM

The association shall work with conventions acceptable by members and such shall be considered for the purpose of amendment when the need arises and all other constitutions for Branches/Sets of the association shall work in consonance with this constitution and any branch/set constitution that is inconsistent with this constitution shall be rendered null and void and of no effect to the extent of its inconsistency.

SECTION 25: AMENDMENTS

This association’s constitution is subject to review and amendment.
Amendment of this constitution can take place after the following process:
1. Application or suggestion/motion for amendment or review shall be put in writing to the association through the Secretary General.
2. The application for the amendment shall be presented to the Executives by the Secretary for deliberation prior to the general congress.
3. The application for amendment shall be presented to the General Congress by the Executive where it shall be decided or adopted or rejected by two-thirds majority vote of members present during the General Congress.