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Your constitution is the single most important document in your whole registration. Get it wrong, and CAC will query it. Get it right, and it becomes the real rulebook your organisation runs on for years.

Here's what actually needs to be in it, based on a real one that cleared CAC's process.

Name and Address

Your constitution needs a name and address clause. It states your full name and where you're based. This has to match what CAC actually approved — not an earlier draft version.

Clear Aims and Objectives

What is your organisation actually for? Vague language here invites the same "be specific" pushback that trips up names.

Rules for Trustees

Who can become one. How they're chosen. What happens if one has to step down.

Membership Tied to Something Real

A real constitution ties membership to something concrete, like place of origin or a shared community. This isn't just formality — it's what makes your organisation's identity defensible if anyone ever questions it.

The Electoral Committee Detail Most People Miss

Your Electoral Committee has to be separate from your sitting Executive. The people currently in charge cannot also run the process that decides who leads next. This protects against a small group quietly holding onto power. CAC expects to see it built into the document, not just practiced informally.

How Meetings Actually Happen

Real organisations now hold hybrid or fully virtual meetings. If yours might too, say so directly — don't assume it's covered by silence.

Money Needs Its Own Section

Who can authorise spending. How many signatures a transaction needs. This protects the organisation as much as it satisfies CAC.

The Dissolution Clause CAMA Requires

Every constitution needs a clause stating what happens to your assets if the organisation ever closes down. CAMA requires this. Skipping it is a guaranteed query.

Why This Matters Beyond the Registration

A constitution that's vague or copied loosely from somewhere else is one of the fastest ways to end up back in a query cycle. Once it's right, it becomes the document your organisation leans on for every real decision that follows.

Haven't sorted your name yet? Start with our piece on why registrations keep getting rejected, then come back here once your name is settled.

Need stamps, seals, or a corporate seal for your organisation once it's incorporated? Get in touch — we're based in Ibadan and happy to talk through what's actually involved.