NASARAWA STATE LIBRARY LAW 2001

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NASARAWA STATE LIBRARY LAW 2001

LAW NO. 1 OF 2003

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Citation and commencement
Interpretation

PART II – ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOARD

Establishment
Appointment and composition
Tenure
Determination of membership
Appointment and functions of Director of Library Services
Meetings
Quorum
Ad-hoc Chairman
Co-opted Member
Proceedings

PART II – FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE BOARD

Functions and Powers of the Board
Borrowing powers
Appointment of Secretary and functions

PART IV – STAFF

Immunities
Management Committee
Power to engage staff
Allowances to Members
[Remuneration of Chairman and Board Members]

PART V – FINANCIAL PROVISION

Funds of the Board
Financial estimate of the Board
Statement of revenue and expenditure
Accounts and Audit
Annual Report

PART VI – MISCELLANEOUS

Authentication of documents
Deposition of published literature
Limitation of action
Representation in court
Execution against the Board
Authority to invest
Regulations

NASARAWA STATE LIBRARY LAW

LAW NO. 1 OF 2003

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

A LAW FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NASARAWA STATE LIBRARY BOARD

Enactment

BE IT ENACTED by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly and by the authority of same as follows:

PART – PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

This Law may be cited as the Nasarawa State Library Law 2001 and shall come into force on the 21st day of May, 2001.

Interpretation

In this Law:

“Board” means the Nasarawa State Library Board established under Section 3 of this Law.

“Books” includes textbooks, pamphlets, maps, charts, plans, statistical table, compilations, dramatic and musical works, encyclopedia, dictionaries, year books, newspapers, magazines and similar periodicals and works written in distinct part by different authors in which any part of such works are incorporated and every part or division thereof; all forms of sound recordings of literary or artistic merit.

“Director” means the Director of Library Services appointed under Section 7 of this Law.

“Functions” includes power and duties.

“Governor” means the Governor of Nasarawa State.

“Member” includes the Chairman and Members of the Board.

“Ministry” means the Ministry of Education.

“State” means Nasarawa State of Nigeria.

“State Library” means any library established or equipped and maintain by the Board under this Law.

“Publisher” includes any author of any literature including Government Department or Organisations. 2

PART II – ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOARD

Establishment

There is hereby established a Board to be known as Nasarawa State Library Board which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and common seal, with power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to hold and dispose of movable and immovable properties.

Appointment and composition

(1) The Board shall consist of the following:

(a) A Chairman and not more than five Members all of whom shall be appointed on part-time basis by the Governor provided that such appointees shall represent:

(i) Nigeria Library Association.

(ii) Higher Education and Research Institutions.

(iii) Business and Industry.

(iv) Nigerian Union of Teachers.

(v) The creative arts and book Industries.

(vi) Other relevant fields of human endeavours.

(b) A representative each from the Ministry of:

(i) Education

(ii) Tourism and Culture

(iii) Women Affairs and Social Development

(iv) Justice; and

(v) Director of Library Services

Tenure

A member shall hold office for a period of three years, subject to reappointment for a further term only.

Determination of membership

(1) A member’s appointment shall be revoked if he:

(a) Has been absent for three consecutive meetings of the Board without the permission of the Chairman; or

(b) Has been sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria or in any other country to a term of imprisonment (by whatever name called) for any offence involving fraud or dishonesty and has not been pardoned; or

(d) Is otherwise unable or unfit to discharge the functions of his office.

Appointment and functions of Director of Library Services

(1) There shall be a Director of Library Services who shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Board who shall have at least a minimum of Masters degree in Library Science or not less than 12 years cognate experience, whose appointment shall be based in accordance with the Civil Service Rules.

(2) He shall be responsible for the execution of the policy decisions of the Board and for proper coordination of the operations of the Board in its day-to-day business.

(3) Notwithstanding the generality of the provisions of Subsection (2) of this Section, the State Director of Library shall:

(a) Exercise general supervision and control over the staff of the Board.

(b) Organise and manage the State Library and the services in pursuance of this Law.

(d) Manage the Board’s financial affairs.

(e) Deploy material and human resources available to the Board in such manner as to attain the objectives of this Law.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of this Section the appointee of such office is deemed to have been appointed under this Law.

(5) Where the Director is absent, the most senior officer of the Library Services shall act in his stead.

Meetings

(1) At the direction of the Chairman, the Board shall meet at such time and places as it shall determine, but shall not be less than four(4) times in a year.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of Subsection (1) of this Section any five (5) members of the Board, may be notice in writing signed by them requesting the Chairman to call a special meeting of the Board for purpose(s) set out in such notice and the Chairman shall, upon receipt of any such notice summon such meeting of the Board for such purpose(s) at the earliest convenient date.

(3) Without prejudice to Subsection (2) above, where the Chairman refuses to summon a meeting, any five members of the Board may by 21 days notice signed by them compel a meeting to be summoned for the issues specified in the said notice to be discussed.

Quorum

(1) At any meeting of the Board, the Chairman and five(5) other members shall form a quorum. In the absence of the Chairman, any four members shall form a quorum.

(2) At any meeting of the Board every matter shall be decided by simple majority votes of members present and voting.

(3) Where the votes are equally divided, the person presiding at such meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

Ad-hoc Chairman

When the Chairman is absent or incapacitated from performing the functions of his office, the Board shall elect from among its members present a person to act as an ad-hoc chairman and such person shall, upon such election, perform all the functions of the Chairman during such absence or incapacity.

Co-opted Member

When the Board desires to obtain the advice of any person on a particular matter, the Board may co-opt such a person on such a matter to be a member for such meeting or meetings as it may think fit, and such person so co-opted shall not be counted for the purpose of forming a quorum.

Proceedings

The validity of any proceedings of the Board or of any Committee of the Board shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership of the Board or any defect in the appointment or nomination of a member, or by reason that a person not entitled to do so took part in the proceedings.

PART II – FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE BOARD

Functions and Powers of the Board

(1) The functions of the Board shall be to:

(a) Establish, equip and maintain in accordance with this Law; libraries in all parts of the State in partnership with the State Ministry of Education, State Universal Education Board and Local Government Authorities which shall provide the funds.

(b) Establish, equip and maintain in accordance with this law; branches of the State Library in any part of the State.

(c) Provide in accordance with this Law such services as in the opinion of the Board are necessary for the establishment, equipment and maintenance of Libraries.

(d) Establish as may be necessary or desirable book depots in the State for the sale of textbooks, exercise books and other educational materials and equipment to members of the public, educational institutions and Government Agencies.

(e) Provide library services to the handicapped and generally disadvantaged people in the State.

(2) In pursuance of its functions under Subsection (1) of this Section, the Board, so far as its resources permit shall:

(a) Assemble, maintain and extend the collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, newspapers, maps, musical scores, films and recordings and such other matters as the Board considers appropriate for a Library of the highest standard.

(b) Make the facilities of the State Library available to members of the public on reasonable terms which may include:

(i) The imposition of fees for services rendered to the public.

(ii) Provisions for preserving the property of the Board.

(iii) The imposition of conditions for admitting members of the public to premises under the control of the Board.

(i) Exchange of things as aforesaid in paragraph (a) of Subsections (1) and (2).

(ii) The preparation and publication of catalogues, indexes and similar aids; and

(iii) The provision of assistance to other persons in the organization of libraries and with respect to the manner of using facilities under the control of libraries.

(d) Make recommendations and give advice on library development or organization to any Department or school or agency of the Government of the State or to persons or group of persons or any organization or to a Local Government Authority; and

(e) Undertake bibliographical services in the State.

(3) The Board shall have such powers as may be necessary or desirable for the efficient exercise of its functions including in particular the power to:

(i) Acquire, construct, maintain or repair any property required for the purposes of the State Library.

(ii) Lease any property which appears to the Board to be unnecessary for the time being for the purposes of the Board.

(iii) Take such steps as it deems necessary for the purposes of advancing the skill of persons employed by the Board including the provisions of facilities for training education and research.

(iv) Promote the efficiency of the equipment of the Board or the manner in which that equipment is operated.

(v) Provide houses, hostels or other residential quarters for persons employed by the Board for purposes specifically approved by the Board as being likely to increase the effectiveness of those persons or for the purpose of any exercise of the functions of the Board.

Borrowing powers

Subject to the provisions of this Law, the Board may borrow money required for meeting its obligations or discharging its functions subject to approval by the Governor.

Appointment of Secretary and functions

Subject to this Law, the Governor may give the Board directions of a general character as to the exercise or performance by the Board of any of its functions under this Law, and the Board shall give effect to such directions.

PART IV – STAFF

Immunities

(1) The Board shall appoint a suitable person with administrative qualities to serve as its Secretary who shall be a staff of the Board.

(2) The Secretary of the Board shall be responsible to the Director State Library Services who shall:

(a) summon, whenever directed by the Chairman any meetings of the Board;

(b) attend all meetings of the Board;

(d) take and keep the records of all meetings of the Board;

(e) perform such other duties as the Board or Director may from time to time assign to him.

(3) The Secretary shall be paid such salary as the Board may determine.

Management Committee

(1) No member of the Board, officer or servant of the Board in his capacity as such shall be personally liable for acts done or acts not done in good faith in discharging the functions of his office under this Law.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Law, the Board may with prior approval of the Governor make standing orders regulating its proceedings or any of its Committees thereof.

(3) Subject to its standing orders, the Board may appoint such other Committees as it may deem necessary and expedient for the exercise of its functions under this Law, but no decision of a Committee so appointed shall have effect until confirmed by the Board.

Power to engage staff

(1) There shall be a Management Committee of the Board which shall be headed by the Director of Library Services and shall consist of all the Heads of Department of the Board.

(2) The Management Committee subject to the approval of the Board shall:

(a) Discipline, terminate and dismiss junior staff.

(b) Consider suitable persons for employment into junior cadre; and

Allowances to Members

(1) The Board may from time to time appoint such officers and employees as may be necessary for the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of the Board upon such salaries, terms and conditions as it may determine.

(2) Service under the Board shall be public service for the purposes of the Pensions Ordinance as amended by the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

(3) The Board may make regulations generally relating to the conditions of service of the officers and employees of the Board and in particular, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations relating to:

(a) The appointment, suspension, termination, interdiction, secondment, discipline, pay, leave and security to be given by officers and employees,

(b) Appeals by such officers and employees against dismissal or other disciplinary measures.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of the provision of this Section, no disciplinary action of any sort shall be taken against any person without first affording such a person the opportunity of being heard.

[Remuneration of Chairman and Board Members]

There shall be paid to the Chairman and other members of the Board such remuneration and allowances (including travelling and subsistence allowances) as the Governor may from time to time prescribe. 9

PART V – FINANCIAL PROVISION

Funds of the Board

(1) The funds of the Board shall include:

(a) All monies accruing to the Board from the State Government or from any statutory corporation either by way of grant-in-aid, endowment or otherwise.

(b) All charges, dues or amounts received by the Board.

(d) All donations accruing to the Board for the general purposes of the Board; and

(e) Any other monies lawfully derived by the Board from any other source whatsoever.

(2) The funds of the Board shall be applied by the Board towards the furtherance of the purposes of the Board under this Law, and in accordance with any terms of conditions upon which those funds may be given.

Financial estimate of the Board

Before the end of each fiscal year or at such other time as may be required, the Management Committee shall present for consideration by the Board, estimates of the revenue and expenditure for the following financial year and the said estimates shall be presented to the Governor for approval.

Statement of revenue and expenditure

At the end of each fiscal year or at such times as may be required by the Board, the Director of Library Services shall present for consideration by the Board, statement of revenue and expenditure during the previous year together with the statement of assets and liabilities of the Board which shall thereafter be presented to the Governor.

Accounts and Audit

(1) The Board shall keep proper books of accounts and other records relating thereto and shall prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of accounts in such form as the Governor may direct.

(2) The Board may with the approval of the Governor write off bad debts.

(3) The Accounts of the Board shall be audited by Auditors from the list of Auditors to be provided by the Auditor General of the State, and their fees shall be paid as provided in a guideline by the Auditor General.

(4) Notwithstanding the provision of this Section, the Auditor General’s power to make periodic checks on the accounts of the Board shall not be precluded.

Annual Report

(1) As soon as may be possible after the end of each Financial Year, the Board shall forward to the Governor a full report on the exercise and performance by Board of its functions during the year together with a certified copy of the audited accounts of the Board.

The Governor shall cause a copy of any report made to him under this Section to be laid before the Executive Council of the State. The financial year of the Board shall be prescribed or determined by the State Government.

PART VI – MISCELLANEOUS

Authentication of documents

(1) The fixing of the Common Seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signatures of the Chairman, or in his absence any member of the Board and the Director of Library Services.

(2) Any contract or instrument which if made or executed by a person not being a body corporate on behalf of the Board by any person generally or specifically authorized in that behalf by the Board.

(3) Any document purporting to be a document duly executed under the common seal of the Board shall be received in evidence and shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be executed.

Deposition of published literature

(1) The publisher of every book published in the State shall within one month of such publication deliver to the Director of Library Services Nasarawa State Library Board. Five copies of the book and one of the copies to be forwarded to the House of Assembly Library.

(2) Where any printed matter (other than matter of such description as the State may for purposes of public security classify to be of restricted circulation) is published by or on behalf of any Department of State, it shall be the duty of the Department to deliver within 30 days to the Director of Library Services five copies of such publication.

(3) Notwithstanding Subsections (1) and (2) of the Section, any publisher who delivers his work shall be entitled to the cost of his services and cost of delivery.

(4) A publisher who fails to comply with the provisions of Subsection (1) and (2) of this Section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Two Thousand Naira (N2,000.00) for each publication or to 3 months imprisonment and the court before which he is convicted shall in addition order him to deliver to the Director of Library Services five copies of each publication as is provided for in the said Section.

(5) The obligation imposed by this Section shall be additional to any similar obligations which may be imposed by any other enactment.

Limitation of action

(1) No suit against the Board or against any member, officer or employee of the Board respecting any act, neglect, default or omission in his capacity as such member, officer or employee shall lie or be instituted in any court unless it is commenced within three years from the occurrence of the act, neglect or default or in the case of a continuance of damage or injury, within three years immediately after the cessation thereof.

(2) No suit shall be commenced against the Board or against any member, officer or employee of the Board in respect of any act, neglect or default or omission by him as such member, officer or employee until at least 30 days after the service on the Board, member, officer or employee as the case may be, of a written notice by or on behalf of the including plaintiff of intention to commence the suit stating:

(a) The case of action

(b) The name and place of abode of the intending plaintiff; and

Representation in court

(1) Any notice, summons or other documents required or authorized to be served on the Board, member, officer, or employee of the Board, may be served by delivering same on:

(a) The Secretary of the Board or Director of Library Services.

(b) By sending same by registered post to the Secretary or Director of the Board; or

(d) By leaving same at the last known place of abode of the member, officer or employee of the Board.

Execution against the Board

Where there is a judgment or order against the Board, execution attachment or other process shall be issued against any property of the Board, other than books or any form of literature except where the court orders otherwise.

Authority to invest

The Board may invest all or any of its funds in such manner as may be approved by the Governor.

Regulations

The Board may with the approval of the Governor make regulations:

(a) For regulating the use of the State Library.

(b) For protecting the State Library and the books, fittings, furniture and contents thereof.

This printed impression has been carefully compared by me with the Bill, which has been passed by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly and is found by me to be true and correct copy of the Bill.

I ASSENTED THIS 21ST DAY OF MAY, 2001

ALHAJI ABDULLAHI ADAMU
Executive Governor
Nasarawa State of Nigeria

Find other laws of Nasarawa State, Nigeria HERE