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Abakaliki Main Market Traders Association (AMMTA)

Motto: Peace, Unity & Progress

AMMTA Executives at a meeting with EbonyiOnline.com staff

AMMTA Chairman, Mr. Peter Oba

AMMTA Executives viewing EbonyiOnline.com web pages

Introduction

Abakaliki Main Market Traders Association (AMMTA) is the largest and most influential traders association in Ebonyi State. The Association has thousands of members in its fold, ranging from textile retailers to foodstuff sellers to wine and beer dealers.

The Association has its head office at a one-storey building fondly called the “White House,” which is located inside the Main Market, Abakaliki.

The Chairman of AMMTA is Mr. Peter Oba. Mr. Oba heads dozens of executive members responsible for a variety of tasks and functions in the Market. One of the most important tasks is maintaining order, discipline and security throughout the Market, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

The Association has various committees responsible for a variety of functions, including collecting dues, ensuring the safety of customers and settling disputes among Association members.

The Association’s activities are guided by a duly approved Constitution and Bylaws. Excerpts from the Constitution and By-Laws are reproduced below.

The Reviewed Constitution / By-Laws of Abakaliki Main Market Traders Association, Abakaliki

Article One: Name

This Association shall be known, called and addressed as the Abakaliki Main Market Traders Association (AMMTA), Abakaliki.

Article Two: Composition

The Abakaliki Main Market Traders Association shall comprise of all the traders in the Main Market (Abakaliki) including those along Gunning Road, New Market Road, Hosanna Street and any other traders within the market area that shall register with this Association.

Article Three: Motto

The motto of this Association shall be peace, unity and progress.

Article Four: Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of this Association are:

To foster absolute unity amongst the traders in the Main Market
To annex, co-opt and cooperate with other traders outside the Main Market in Abakaliki and other states.
To identify the problems of the traders with an ultimate aim of solving them collectively.
To maintain the liberty and dignity of the traders at all times and places.
To be law abiding and cooperate with the Government of the day.
To ensure that the traders goods are adequately secured.
To ensure prompt collection of dues and levies and prompt payment of workers salaries.

Article Five: Emblem

The Association shall maintain an approval emblem.

Article Six: Membership

The membership shall be open to all the traders within the Jurisdiction as mentioned in Article two (2) of this constitution.
For a trader in the aforementioned area to be a member he/she will register with five hundred naira, N500 anybody who fails to register within the first one month will be regarded as late registration and will register with one thousand naira (N1,000).

Article Seven: The Ruling Body of the Association

The Association shall be run by the following bodies:

The Executives:
This body shall be made up of all elected officers and other co-opted members from different arms of the traders in the Main Market.
Central Line Representatives:
This body shall be made of three representatives in each line, line collectors in the Main Market as referred as alphabetically e.g. Textile line, Express line etc.
The Congress:
The congress is the mass meeting of the traders where the activities of the Association shall be published.

Article Eight: Section 1: The Officers of the Association

The officers of the Association shall consist of the following:

The Chairman
1st Vice Chairman and 2nd Vice Chairman
The Secretary General
Assistant Secretary
Financial Secretary
Treasurer
Public Relations Officer
One provost
Two information officers
Three auditors to be appointed when the need arises
Six (6) patrons to be geographically appointed

Section 2A

All election of officers shall be by open ballot system, and shall be held separately to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

Section 2B

As many as four (4) contestants could be nominated to vie for each elective offices and nay one with simple majority of votes stands duly elected.

Section 2C: Screening Committee

The outgoing Chairman shall appoint a five (5) man screening committee to screen the aspirants and any body disqualified by them, stands disqualified, while only those qualified shall contest the election. This committee shall consist of men of proven characters and integrity whose appointment shall be geographically spread to reflect the five eastern states of Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Abia. They shall be presented to the general house after appointment by the executive.

Section 2D

All the election shall be done by the congress who will vote and be voted for if nominated.

Section 2E

On the day of the elections, the outgoing Chairman and the Secretary shall address the house, after which the officers stands dissolved.

Section 2F

The outgoing Chairman shall appoint returning officer and which will be subject to congress approval.

Section 2G

The returning officer shall in turn appoint his secretary and two counting officers.

Section 3: Vacant Officer(s)

An office or offices could be declared vacant if the holder(s) resigns, dies or is/are removed by a vote of no confidence held at a meeting of the congress such a meeting must be attended by not less than seventy-five (75%) of the members and the vote must enjoy two-thirds (2/3) majority at such a meeting.

Section 4: Term of Office

The live of each administration shall be four consecutive years.
To ensure a democratic administration peace, progress and stability, no officer shall stay more than two terms in office.
But where an officer is removed from office on vote of no confidence of simple majority of the congress the officer shall not contest for any elective office until after eight (8) years from the date of his removal.

Section 5A: Qualification for Election

Forms: Any person aspiring to any elective post in AMMTA shall first obtain a form from the office of the Secretary General, the form shall be filled by the aspirant, and returned for documentation. The fees for the forms are as follow: Chairman N2,000; Secretary &Treasurer N1,500; each other officer N1,000.
For eligibility to contesting for any elective position, the aspirant must have been a member of the Association for a period of not less than 4 years.
The aspirant must be literate, with the ability to read and write. He must possess a minimum qualification of FSL and WASC or NECO for the office of secretary.
He must be a good Nigerian without previous criminal record.
Any aspiring trader to any post with known violent tendencies and acts of thuggery that may be a threat to peace and harmony in the market, shall not be eligible to contest.
For any aspirant to qualify to stand for any election, such person must not be indebted to the Association, in any form especially on security fee or watch night fee.

Section 5B. Qualities of a Chairman/Secretary Given the vintage and indispensable nature of this two offices, the following standard has been set for any would be aspirant:

(1) Chairman

Any trader aspiring to the position of chairman must possess an academic qualification of not less than a first school Leaving Certificate F.S.L.C. or above, with minimum age of 35 years.
He must be a dominant and influential figure with proven leadership qualities
He must be fearless and bold enough to withstand any internal and external pressure that goes with his official duties.
An ideal chairmanship aspirant must be God fearing, confident, accommodative and without any questionable character or possesses any record of previous criminal activities.
The chairmanship aspirant must have an appreciable and visible means of livelihood.

(2) Secretary General

Aspirant to the post of secretary general must have as minimum academic qualification: WASC, NECO and above.
As the live wire of any organization, he must be a gentleman proven character and abilities.
He must be bold, confident and outspoken with a goon command of spoken and written English language, and above average organization abilities.

Section 5C: Other Provision on Election

In the event of a stalemate or tie of figures between two contestant, a run off election shall be conducted instantly at the same venue to determine a clear winner which shall be by simple majority.
Any election result declared by the electoral team, through the returning officer shall be deemed valid and acceptable to the Congress.

Article Nine: Duties of Officers

Chairman

The Chairman is the head and chief executive of the administration. He shall preside over all executive and congress meeting, except the meetings of sub committee, which has their own Chairman. All meetings shall gold with his consent, and shall have powers to stop any meeting form holding, if the reason for such meeting shall be detrimental to the collective interest of AMMTA. He shall direct the summoning of emergence meeting in consultation with the secretary general, with whom he must maintain a good rapport, cooperation and confidence to enhance excellent administration, he shall direct the other offices in performance of their duties to avoid any laxity.
He shall have voting right incase of a stalemate so as to break any deadlock during voting, but shall not exercise such powers in financial matters. He shall endorse all adopted minus of the Association and other relevant documents.
The Chairman shall be a signatory to the Associations bank account.
He shall perform other special duties that may be of immense benefit to the Association which is not stipulated or enshrined in the constitution.

B. Vice Chairman / 2c Vice Chairman

In the absence of the chairman, he takes over all his responsibilities. He shall perform other duties assigned to him by the chairman.

In the event of the chairman and his vice being indisposed, the 2nd vice chairman is vested with the power to act in their capacity. In the absence of the chairman 1st vice chairman and 2nd vice chairman, the house is vested with power to appoint some other person to preside in the meeting.

C. Secretary General

He is the administrative head in the Associations secretariat. He shall always be of friendly disposition towards his staff and officers, and selfless in the discharge of his duties.
He shall be in charge of all the secretarial duties in all the meetings of the Association. He shall prepare all meeting agendas, and take proper record of meeting proceedings (minutes) and reads same both in executive and congress meeting.… All the previous minutes read and adopted by the house must be endorsed by him and counter signed by the chairman. He shall always be aware of any proposed meeting.
He shall always keep a proper and accurate record of the Associations properties. He shall equally prepare the progression and retrograding report of both executive and congress at end of the year meeting or as when due.
The Secretary General shall perform some other duties not stipulated or enshrined that be beneficial to the Association.

D. Assistant Secretary

He shall assist the secretary in all these function as enumerated in article 9c above and deputize for the secretary in his absence.

E. The Treasurer

He is the safe custodian of the Association’s treasury. He shall receive, collect all monies for the Association from the financial secretary within 24 hours of receipt and acknowledge receipt of such money. All financial transaction of the Association must be to his consent.
He shall only pay out all those monies vouchered and signed by the financial secretary, authorized by the chairman and countersigned by the secretary. He shall keep accurate records of income and expenditure accounts backed by receipt and payment voucher of the Association for scrutiny by the Auditors when need arises.
He shall be prepared at all times for either withdrawal or lodgment of the Association money from or into our Treasury. He shall only keep an impress account of N10,000 (ten thousand Naira only) with him for cases of emergency.
He shall also be present in all the meetings of the Association

F. Financial Secretary

He is duty bound to receive and collect all money(s) of the Association such as levies, fines, dues, etc. He shall pay such money(s) so collected to the Treasurer within (24) twenty-four hours from the day of collection.
He shall issue receipt for all money(s) collected on behalf of the Association and prepare payment vouchers for all expenditure of the Association no matter how minimal the amount.
He is duty bound to be preparing income and Expenditure account for easy determination of the financial posture of the Association.
He shall prepare and annual statement of accounts and be prepared at any point to handover his books of stewardship to the Auditors for scrutiny.
He shall always be present at all meeting to avoid paralyzing the financial transaction of the Association.
He shall be a signatory to all financial transactions of the Association.

G. Public Relations Officer (P.R.O.)

He is solely in charge of dissemination of information through the mass media, public address system or local circular system.
He is the image maker of the Association.
The circular bearers must obtain the green light from him for distribution of information to individual, committee or congress as the situation may necessitate.

H. Information Officers

They are the circular bearers of the Association and will be solely in charge of distributing circulars and passing necessary information’s to the executives and the entire members of the Association.

I. Provost

There shall be chief provost and two (2) other provost serving under him to be appointed.
Their duties are among others to maintain law, order and peace in all the meeting and gathering of the Association. The chief provost shall take note of all the latecomers, collect fines from them and had over same to the financial secretary at the end of every meeting.
He shall carry out lawful instructions from the Chairman and other officials of the Association and arrange a venue for conducting a meeting.

J. The Patron(s)

The patron(s) who must be a financial member(s) of the Association shall be of proven characters and shall attend executive meetings at his desecration or by special invitation.
He shall give the Association fatherly and reliable advice at all times.
He shall be neutral in case any of dispute in the Association.
He shall stand as a father of all.

K. Auditors

On demand of either the line representative committee or congress, the auditors shall be appointed to audit the books and properties of the Association. Their report shall be in writing and will be submitted to the congress for approval.

L. Trustees

The Association shall maintain three (3) appointed Trustees.

M. Bankers

The U.B.A. and Diamond Bank Plc. Shall be the Association’s bankers. The bank signatory shall be the chairman and secretary and treasure any of the two (2) including the Chairman can withdraw.

Article Ten. Duties of the Executive

1. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the general administration of the business of the Association and the government of the Association.

Membership of the Executive Committee

The membership of the executive committee shall consist of members as was enshrined in Article seven “A” (7a).
One third (1/3) of the Executive members present at the Executive meeting shall always form a quorum.
The Executive shall meet at least once a month.
The executive committee may appoint sub committee to deal with specific matter(s) and shall define their duties.
The Executive committee shall have the powers to:

Administer the business of the Association and subject only to the Congress for approval
Arrange and impose dues and levies on traders as it may consider necessary for the furtherance of the objectives of the Association and shall guard the Association against waste and loss.
Raise and collect special levies for development projects
Decide appeals from Traders.
Consider suggestion from Traders.
Makes special arrangement for holding the Congress meeting.
Appoint delegates to attend meetings inside or outside the State in respect of matters in which the Association may have interest.
Initiate programs for the welfare of the Traders.
Impound defaulters good in the market (only) and will release same to the owners on payment of the stipulated fine(s).

The transport and feeding expenses of official attending special duties shall be incurred by the Association.
The Executive committee shall have the power to admit other group of traders within the Main Market that shall wish to join this Association. But this shall be done after proper investigation to ensure the security of the traders properties.
The Executive committee shall have no power to suspend, expel or remove from office any of its elected members without formal inquiry conducted after notice must have been given and the decision of the Executive committee shall be ratified by the congress.
The Executive committee shall take disciplinary measure against any member of the Association who violates the laid down rules and regulation of this Association.

Article Eleven: Duties of the Line Representatives

1. Composition:

Reference to article 7 (b) of this constitution. 2. Duties

To act as special line representatives.
To do other duties to the benefit and well being of the traders.
The line representative shall be having quarterly joint meeting with the Executive Committee for deliberations.
To amend or repeal the constitution.
To suspend or remove from office any erring elected officer.

Article Twelve: The Congress

The congress meeting may be convened when the need arises by the Executive Committee in conjunction with the line Representative/line collectors.
Membership of the congress shall include all officers and members of the Executive Committee, all the members of the line representative/line collectors and all the entire trader in Abakaliki Main Market as specified in Article (2) of the constitution.
Quorum: One quarter (¼) of all traders in Abakaliki Main Market shall form a quorum.

The congress shall have powers...

To elect any officer of the Association provided for in the constitution.
To approve or treat any other matters the Executive or line representative may refer to them.

The decision of the congress shall be final.

Article Thirteen. Discipline. Fighting

1.

Any person or group of persons who fought in the market is liable to a fine of two thousand naira (N2,000).
The fine shall be paid on demand to line representatives who shall hand same over to the peace committee.
Defaulters of (b) above shall double the fine or face the Executive Committee disciplinary action.
The Executive committee shall through the peace committee invite the both sides that fought at the committee’s convenient time and settle the differences.
After the settlement, the peace committee shall refund the innocent one (s) of his/her one thousand naira (N1,000) while that of the guilty one(s) shall be paid into the Associations.
Treasury and receipt issued to the offender(s).

2. Illegal Structures in the Market

There shall be no closing of the major entrance and or passage in the market.
If any attempt is made to close any entrance or to erect any illegal structure in the market or any other places under the Associations territory, the Executive committee shall use its power to stop or demolish such structure forthwith. If the offender fails to loosen or remove such a structure after two days of notice…
The cost of the demolition shall be incurred by the defaulter.

3. Blocking of Line or Causing Obstruction

To avoid the blocking of lines and causing of obstructions in the market, the executives committee shall check lines in the market from time to time.
Any person or group of persons who deliberately obstruct any of the lines in the market with wares or other material shall be fined or have their goods impounded.
The impounded goods shall be released to the owner on payment of the stipulated fines of N200.00 (two hundred naira only).

4. Smoking in the Market

There shall be no smoking, naked light, keeping or holding of anything flammable in the market.
Any person or persons who violate this article 13 (2a) shall be liable to a fine of Five Thousand Naira (n5,000,00).
A written notices of warning of “NO SMOKING” shall be placed in the major entrance of the market.

5. Arbitrary Dislocation of the Association's Resolution

Any person or group of persons who by virtue of his/their position or influence tries to thwart the resolutions already adopted for execution by any of the two ruling bodies shall be deemed as a treat to the Association. Such a person or persons shall pay a fine of five thousand Naira (5,000) each.

6. Misuse or Embezzlement of the Association's Assets

Any person or group of persons who by virtue of his/their offices or influence misuse(s) the Associations assets shall have to replenish the asset and make for the expected profit that would have accrued to the Association over the time the asset was in use.
In the event that the above defaulter(s) default to replenish or substitute as provided by this article 12 (5b), the Association shall adopt legal means to redeem the said assets including the protit(s).

7. Exemplary Leadership

Any executive member that stays beyond the allowed closing time without any official reason shall pay a fine of two hundred naira (N200)
Any Executives/trader who takes law into his/her hand by breaking keys or padlocks lawfully placed by authorized committee for offence committed shall pay a fine of two thousand naira (N2,000) and shall replace such keys or padlocks.

8. Discipline of the Elected/Appointed Officers

Any officer who fails to live up to expectation or by virtue of his position in the Association shall be removed from office by a two-third (2/3) majority votes in line representative meeting.
The mover(s) of such a motion shall have to submit it to the secretary of the Association to enable him include it in the agenda for notification to the line representative.

9. Recovery of Levies Due for Payment

The Executive committee may from time to time delegate the finance committee to collect or recover dues or levies due for payment from members of the Association.
Incase of default in the above payments finance committee shall have to exercise the powers conferred on them to collect the fine double and defaulter9s) need not question their integrity.

10. Tidiness of the Market

In order to keep the market tidy, every market stall shall have dust bin.
Defaulter(s) shall pay a fine of two hundred naira (N200).

11. Time for Opening/Closing the Market for and after Day's Business

The Association has accepted 5:30 pm for closing of the market after the day’s business.
Also accepted 7 AM for opening the market for each day's business.
Anyone who defaults the above is liable to a fine of twenty naira (N20.00).
Those along Gunning Road, New market Road, Hosanna street, etc. closes by 6pm and opens by 7am daily. Closing late attracts a fine of N100.

12. Security Measures

Every shop must be locked with two keys, any body who locks his/her shop with one key shall pay a fine of two hundred naira only (N200.00) While anybody who fails to lock his shop will pay a fine of five hundred naira (N 500).
Any body who fails to off his /her light, fans and other electrical appliances shall pay a fine of five hundred naira (N500) while any body whom refuse is found in front of his shop shall pay a fine of two hundred naira only (N200).
Late offloading attracts a fine of one hundred naira (N100).
Any body who drops refuse into a flowing water when the rain is falling shall pay a fine of five hundred naira (N500).

13. Handover of Stall

Any stall owner that whishes to hand over his or her stall to another person must first of all inform the occupant, it is only where the occupants fails to meet to his demand that he can then hand it over to another person.
If the landlord hands over the stall to another person without the consent of the tenant, the Association shall retrieve it from the new owner and give same to the tenant if he/she is ready to meet up with the demands of the landlord, and all prospective new landlords must make