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INTRODUCTION
The Association of
Tradesmen and Artisans / Police Assistance Committee /
Council of Tradesmen and Artisans is the coordinating
body for all the Tradesmen and Artisans Associations in
Nigeria. We are of the grass-roots of the informal sector
of the economy. We have well over 500,000 Artisans
Associations in the Federation unified under the above
body with one National President and his Executives and
we have our operational language for whatever venture we
decide to stake into.
The Association of
Tradesmen and Artisans as an umbrella body is to
organize, co-ordinate, monitor, control and as well,
sanctify the affairs of the related associations with
operational status. This body work hand-in-hand with all
the states ministry of commerce and industry in the
federation.
Nevertheless, it
might also interest you to know that many states now
find it easier to reach out to the grassroots of the
informal sector through the Association of Tradesmen and
Artisans and Lagos State has benefited the most.
In addition, due
to the importance we attach to security of lives and
properties, the Association of Tradesmen and Artisans /
Police Assistance Committee / Council of Tradesmen and
Artisans sought ways to assist in combating crimes in this
country. This culminated in the formation of the Police
Assistance Committee (PAC), which was inaugurated in the
year 2002 in Lagos and today is spreading to other
states of the Federation.
PRIMARY
FUNCTIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF TRADESMEN AND ARTISANS
a. To reactivate
all dormant and dead Tradesmen and Artisans Associations
in the country.
b. To liaise with
the ministry on behalf of the various associations on
matters affecting individual associations.
c. To protect the
interest of members of all recognized Associations.
d. To inspire the
formation of Association of Tradesmen and Artisans in
states where they are not present or functional.
e. To keep an
authentic record of all accredited Tradesmen and
Artisans Associations in the country.
f. Members are
advised nation-wide to give information directly to
the Area Commander and Divisional Police Officer (D. P.
O.) in all states of the federation.
g. Modernization
of Trades and Artisans: Good standard of services and
rates; uniformity of price from each association; and
issuance of receipts to customers from each association
members; code of conduct of all Tradesmen and Artisans;
organized business conduct for modern day standard e.g.,
e-business, trade improvement and computer training.
h. Information
Mobility Through The Media Agencies: To enlighten all
the Tradesmen and Artisans in the country through the
Television, Radio, Newspapers and all media agencies on
how to modernize their trades.
i. Giving out
loans to members who are interested with only 5%
interest.
j. The Association
takes 50% responsibility of members during wedding and
burial ceremonies.
TARGET OF THE
ASSOCIATION OF TRADESMEN AND ARTISANS
a. To eliminate
the activities and functions of fraudulent persons
operating under the guise of being Tradesmen and
Artisans in all parts of the country.
b. To synchronize
the activities and operational functions of all
Tradesmen and Artisans in Nigeria as a whole. To spread
successful operation to all states in Nigeria.
c. Pioneering for
the recognition of various associations in the country
by the ministry. This will be useful in regulating the
number of associations in the country. It will also
increase the revenue going to the government through the
ministry. This amounts to registering for identification
as a body operating in Nigeria as an association.
d. Financial Aid
from The World Bank through the Federal and State
Ministries of Commerce, Industry and Tourism: loan
allowance to all registered tradesmen and artisans
associations in the country for the growth of their
businesses.
e. Seminars And
Conferences: education on how to improve trades and
artisanships in the country / states. This would inform
them of the need to differentiate all the types of
trades and to identify with the Tradesmen and Artisans.
The Association of
Tradesmen and Artisans / Police Assistance Committee /
Council of Tradesmen and Artisans identify with
different agencies both private and public. Some of
these are as follows: -
i. The Ministry of
Commerce and Industry recognizes the National Executive
members of this Association, in assisting them in
Commerce policy.
ii. The Executive
members are in conjunction with NAFDAC towards
the eradication of fake drugs and other sub-standard
regulated products in the country by giving useful
information to the state NAFDAC offices through our
grassroots members in each state of the Federation.
iii. The Executive
members also liaise with the Lagos State Ministry of
Finance, to collect funds through Personal Income Tax
from our members.
iv. The Executive
members liaise with the Inspector General of Police and
Commissioners of Police in each state in giving quick
information.
v. The Executive
members work hand-in-hand with the Force P.R.O. and the
state P.R.O in the country on Police Assistance
Community projects for easy flow of information.
vi. The Executive
members work in conjunction with the Lagos State
Commerce and Industry, Alausa – Ikeja, mainly on
generating funds into the State government coffers
through the
identification of different trades associations and also
through the issuance of I.D. cards, badges etc., through
the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Here are:-
In a nutshell, The
Association of Tradesmen and Artisans uses
its time and finance in the project of launching the
Police Assistance Committee on ‘Community Policing’ in
each state of the Federation, without government
assistance in the execution of this project.
This body creates
awareness to all the grassroots members in giving useful
information in combating crime in each state of the
federation.
The Association of
Tradesmen and Artisans of Nigeria provides the above
services voluntarily to the Nigerian Police as our
contribution to our Fatherland.
We, the executive members of the
Police Assistance Committee and Association of Tradesmen
& Artisans will like to use this opportunity to
introduce PAC to you.
And we will also like to inform you
that in case PAC does not yet exist in your State that
is within Nigeria, that we can assist to establish a
chapter of PAC in your Police State Commands / Area
Commands.
If you desire to have PAC inaugurated
and established in your State, then please get in touch
with us, and we will mobilize our members across the
Nation to give their support towards establishing PAC in
your State.
Any State Commissioner of Police who
is interested to have PAC established in his State,
should write us, and we will use our numerical strength
and finance to establish PAC in his State. This is the
token contribution we can offer to our beloved country.
And also, any other country, apart
from Nigeria, that is interested in establishing Police
Assistance Committee or Association of Tradesmen &
Artisans in their country should also please write us
and we will come to give them a one month lecture and
training on how to coordinate, sanitize, mobilize and
establish Association of Tradesmen & Artisans and Police
Assistance Committee in their country, in order to
arrest ugly situations resulting from loss of lives and
property.
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