ARTICLE 12

OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

1. NATIONAL OFFICERS
(a) (i) Composition:
There shall be:
President
Two Vice-Presidents designated as:
1st Vice-President and
2nd Vice-President, respectively.
Secretary-General
Deputy Secretary-General
National Treasurer
Editor of the Nigerian Medical Journal (NMJ).
(ii) The term of office for all National officers shall be for two years which shall be non-renewable.
(iii) The post of the President and Secretary-General shall always be zoned to the same NMA geo-political zone and shall be rotated in turns among the seven zones.
(b) The order of precedence in the Association shall be in the following descending order:
(i) President
(ii) 1st Vice-President
(iii) 2nd Vice-President
(iv) Secretary-General
(v) Deputy Secretary-General
(vi) National Treasurer and
(vii) Editor of the Nigerian Medical Journal (NMJ).
(c) In the event of the office of the President of the Association becoming vacant during the course of his tenure, the 1st Vice-President shall immediately become the President and the 2nd Vice-President shall immediately become the 1st Vice-President.
A vacant office of the 2nd Vice-President shall be filled at a bye-election at the next ADM.
(d) In the event of the office of the Secretary- General becoming vacant during the course of his tenure the Deputy Secretary-General shall immediately become the Secretary-General.
(e) In the event of the office of the 2nd Vice-President, Deputy Secretary-General and or National Treasurer becoming vacant in the course of their tenures, Council shall convene an EDM for the purposes of electing the 2nd Vice President and/or the National Treasurer and/or Deputy Secretary-General subject to the provisions of this Constitution.
(f) All offices filled pursuant to the above provisions,(c)(d) and (e) shall last until the next ADM and shall not be counted as a term of office for whosoever filled the office in the course of someone else's tenure.
(g) No elected National officer shall hold a State office simultaneously.
(h) The Duties of the National Officers are as specified below:
(i) The President: The President shall preside over all meetings of the Association. The President in consultation with the Council members shall interprete the Constitution and bye-laws and decide any doubtful points. Any disagreement arising from such interpretation shall be referred to the Committee of Past Presidents who shall be the final arbiter.

The President shall, as the head of the Association, be responsible for the co- ordination of the activities of all groups and sections established to further the interest of the Association. The President shall be the Chief spokesperson of the Association. He shall act as deemed necessary on behalf of the Association, in between meetings of the NEC but shall report to the Council for ratification at the next meeting of the NEC.
He shall consult regularly with the other officers on such issues.
The President shall present an Annual and when necessary supplementary budget(s) for the approval of the NEC each year for the operations of the Association that year. He shall also present an audited financial report of the preceding year at the ADM as the accounting officer of the Association.
He shall authorize all expenditure not exceeding the imprest limit which shall be determined by NEC from time to time provided such authorized expenditure shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the approved imprest limit.
He shall authorize the expenditure not exceeding 25 per cent of every line budget of the preceding year before the Annual Budget is approved by the NEC.
(ii) Vice President: In the absence of the President, one of the Vice Presidents shall perform his duties. For this purpose the 1st Vice President shall take precedence over the 2nd Vice President.
(iii) The Secretary-General:
The Secretary-General shall be answerable to the President on the day to day running of the Association and shall handle all correspondences. He shall take and keep the minutes of meetings and records of the Association and Council. He shall notify new officers of their elections. He shall keep an inventory of all the Association's properties. He shall arrange with the President the order of proceedings at meetings and shall be responsible for the general management of the Secretariat of the Association. The Secretary-General may delegate responsibilities to the Deputy Secretary-General or any of the Assistant Secretaries-General.

The Secretary- General shall appoint Assistant Secretaries-General with the approval of the NEC to assist him in the discharge of his duties provided the number of the Assistant Secretaries-General shall not exceed seven selected from each of the seven NMA geo-political zones including FCT-Abuja branch if the Secretary-General is based elsewhere. The President shall, however, have the power to authorize the appointment of 2 Acting Assistant Secretaries-General before NEC approves the appointment of Assistant Secretaries- General that shall not exceed seven. The Secretary-General shall operate an imprest account to be determined by the NEC.
(iv) The Deputy Secretary General: Shall act for the Secretary-General in his absence and shall co-operate with the Secretary-General at all times. He shall serve as Secretary to all Standing Committees of the Association, unless otherwise stated herein in this Constitution.
(v) Assistant Secretary-General: Shall assist the Secretary-General at all times. Such Assistant Secretaries-General shall not be appointed from among NEC and shall not have a voting right at NEC.
(vi) The National Treasurer: The National Treasurer shall receive all monetary income due to the Association and make all payments ordered by the Council and/or approved by the President.
He shall keep an account of all such receipts and payments and shall submit all such receipts and other accounts books and documents to the Auditor after December 31st and in any case in time to enable the Auditor prepare a report for the President before the ADM of the new year.
(vii) Editor of the Nigerian Medical Journal: The Editor shall be responsible for the publication of the Journal as defined under Article 21 of this Constitution.
(viii) Any officer shall perform such other duties as directed by the Council or the Delegates' Meeting or the President.
2. (a) (i) National Officers' Committee (NOC): The composition of the National Officers' Committee herein before and after referred to as the NOC shall consist of all National Officers as in 12 (1)(a)(i) The President shall be the Chairman and the Secretary-General shall be the Secretary of the Committee.
(ii) The Committee shall advise the President in the exercise of his duties as stated in 12(1)(h)(i).
(iii) Without prejudice to Article 12 (1)(h)(i), the National Officers' Committee shall act on behalf of National Executive Council and the Nigerian Medical Association in between meetings of the NEC.
(iv) The National Officers' Committee shall meet at least once in four months.
(b) (i) The NOC shall choose any member to act for an officer who is unwilling or unable to act in office. Such decision shall require 2/3 approval of the next NEC meeting.
(ii) Notwithstanding Article 12 (2) (b) (i) above, the provisions of Articles 5 and 16 shall apply for the removal of any officer from office.

3. OFFICERS OF STATE BRANCHES AND ZONES/DIVISIONS SHALL BE:
(a) A Chairman
(b) A Secretary
(c) A Treasurer and such other officers as may be required by the State branch for the conduct of its affairs.
4. The term of office for all officers stated in Article 12 (3) above shall be for two years which is non- renewable. No member of any State or FCT branch shall hold the same office for more than one non- renewable term.