An
MOU (In lieu of By-law) An
MOU (In lieu of By-law) (East Coast: New Jersey & New York)
| Preamble We, the Ogbaru indigenes residing in the New York, New Jersey area, united by our culture and determined to establish an association and to harness our strength, aspiration and resources in furtherance of the culture, development, and dinterest of all indigines of Ogbaru in the diaspora, and the community of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State of Nigeria, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims. Article 1, Assocaiton Accordingly, we hereby resolve to form the Ogbaru USA Association (New Jersey New York Chapter) hereafter referred to as the "Association" as a not-for-profit cultural organization of all indigines of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State of Nigeria, residing in New Jersey and New York. Article 2. Purposes and Principles Having entered into this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in lieu of our by-laws,accept same to be a statement of purposes and principles of our Association until such a time that the Association is formally registered and adopts by-laws stipulating its structures, goals and objectives, frequency of meetings, venue, hosting, contributions and disbursement of funds and all other modalities of operation that may be deemed necessary for its effective functioning. Article 3. Duration of MOU Decides that this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) shall be in force until such a time the Association is formally registered. Article 4. Membership of Association Decides the members of the Association shall comprise of all sons, daughters and wives of Ogbaru indigines residing in the New York and New Jersey Area. Associate membership will be open to nieces and newphews (umu nwadiana) and in-laws ( indiogo), and all friends and well wishers of Ogbaru whose work will enhance our collective cultural, humanitarian and development efforts. Article 5. Officers Decides to establish for the purposes of the running of the Association, an elected Interim Board consisting of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Treasurer and Provost until such a time the association is formally registered. Article 6. Participation Decides that the Association shall place no restriction on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality insofar as they meet the membership elibibility criteria set out in Article 4 above. Article 7. Decisions Decides that all decisions of the Association will be reached by a simple majority vote. Article 8. Frequency of Meetings Decides that meetings of the Association will be held every two months, namely: February, April, June, August, October and December, on a Saturday on dates agreed to by the members during a prior meeting and in consultation with the hosts. Article 9. Hosting And Venue of Meetings Decides that until the Association is registered and formalized, meetings of the Association will be held on a rotational basis at the residence of members who volunteer to be hosts. Article 10. Time and Order of Meetings Decides that the scheduled time of every meeting shall be 4.00 p.m. A grace period of 30 minutes will be given for delays and late arrivals after which the meeting shall commence once a quorum has been attained. The duration of the meeting shall be 3 hours, i.e 4:30 p.m to 7:30 p.m. Notice and agenda of meetings along with the minutes of the last meeting shall be sent to members at least three weeks prior to the nexting meeting. The Chairman shall preside over all meetings, and in his or her absence the Vice-Chairman, the Secretary, Treasurer, Provost or Deputy_Secretary shall preside in this order of precedence. Article 11. Quorum Decides that the presence of seven members of the Association, of which no more than three shall be elected officers, shall constitute a quorum for the holding of a meeting and for taking a binding decisions. Article 12. Procedure Decides that meetings of the Association shall be conducted in eigher Igbo or English, and that all form of communications and documents of the Association shall be in English. Article 13. Membership Fees, Dues and Fines Decides that every member of the Association shall pay an enrolment fee of $50.00 (fifty US Dollars) at the time of registration; an annual membership dues of $50.00 (fifty US dollars), and that all annual dues are payable by the second meeting of the year (April); Levies, if any, will be on a need basis. A fine of $5.00 shall be paid by late comers. Each member is allowed one absence a year from the meeting, and a fine of $10.00 thereafter. Article 14. Disbursement of Funds Decides that expenses of the Association and all disbursement of funds shall be authorized by the Association at its meetings except as covered in the following clause: Ad hoc and emergency expenses shall be authorized by the Chairmain in consultation with the Board. Their decision and the expenses shall be presented at the next meeting for ratification. Article 15 Amendment of the MOU. Decides that any amendments to this MOU, when so moved by a registered member and seconded by another registered member, shall be considered at a general meeting and adopted by two-third of the members present at the meeting. Article 16. Adoption and Entry Into Force of the MOU Decides that this Memorandum of Understanding shall be adopted and shall come into force once it is considered in its entirety at a general meeting and adopted by two-thirds of the members present at the meeting after the necessary amendments and changes have been made. Adopted at the 10th Meeting of the Association on this 29th day of August, 1998, at Queens, New York. Home Page |