A social network shaped by its community.

The proposed Council has three registered trustees plus two community representatives. After incorporation, the three founding trustees would form the initial body; two representatives join after readiness and elections. Today the founders run HeyNaija and these proposed bodies are not claimed operational.

1. Voting members

   Eligible legal members who verified adult identity and voluntarily activated platform voting. One person, one vote.

2. Community Council

   Three registered trustees on a common three-year cycle, plus two annually elected representatives. Oversees budgets, leads, roadmap and risk.

3. • Operations

     Keeps the service running, secure and within budget.

   • Development

     Releases, architecture and security patches, in the open.

   • Moderation

     Applies the published rules to reports, with appeals.

Proposed quorum: two for the initial three-trustee body; three for the full five-member Council. Routine decisions use a majority of non-conflicted members present; ties fail. Representatives participate in oversight but do not gain statutory trustee powers. Trustee changes require lawful association resolutions and applicable CAC approval. The founding term counts toward the retained limit of two consecutive full terms per role, followed by a one-term break.

Platform users, legal members and active voting members are distinct. Identity verification and public badges are separate from all three. An account, verification or online opt-in alone does not admit anyone to the association. You never need NIN verification for ordinary social activity.

Accounts are 18+ only while the beta runs. HeyNaija intends to open them to younger people once child-safety protections, age checks and any parental consent the law requires are approved; voting membership would stay 18+, with a verified age.

• Platform user

  Available now, by invite

  What you can do

  Post, reply, follow, join communities, report and appeal.

  What it needs

  An invite and, during the beta only, being 18 or older. No NIN.

  Votes

  No governance vote.

• Legal member

  Formal association admission is proposed; not open in the platform.

  What it adds

  Rights under the association’s registered constitution, including formal meeting rights.

  What it needs

  Documented admission under transparent, consistently applied constitutional rules.

  Choice

  Every eligible legal member may activate platform voting voluntarily. Opting out does not end legal membership or formal meeting rights.

  Legal and voting membership

• Active voting member

  Registration has not opened.

  What it adds

  One vote in member decisions and council elections; the right to propose, nominate and stand.

  What it needs

  Legal admission, verified adult identity (NIN initially preferred), voluntary activation and published eligibility deadlines. Future lawful verification alternatives are permitted.

  Cost

  Proposed to be free. Payments and donations never buy votes.

  Voting membership in full

Platform ballots and formal association meetings are distinct. Legal members keep lawful meeting rights even if they opt out online. Recall has independent oversight, notice and a fair hearing; no founder permission is needed. A trustee ballot requires legal follow-through, not an automatic appointment or removal.

How a proposal would work

1. PublishA voting member publishes the purpose, exact text, alternatives, costs and risks. It needs 10 voting members or 2% of eligible voters, whichever is greater, capped at 100; or referral by three council members to reach a ballot.
2. 14-day consultationEveryone can read and discuss it before any vote.
3. Eligibility lock and noticeThe list of who can vote is fixed 14 days before the ballot opens, and the ballot is announced.
4. 7-day ballotA private, independently auditable vote: one ballot per member, with no record linking a person to their choice.
5. Result and follow-throughTotals and the audit outcome are published, and what was done about it goes into the decision history.

Any early poll before then would be labelled non-binding.

HeyNaija is not community-owned today. These are the steps the draft constitution proposes, with where each one actually stands. Actual dates depend on incorporation and legal review. Prepare the first trustee election 180 days before founding-term expiry and publish its timetable by 90 days before expiry. If online governance is delayed, the draft requires lawful formal member procedures; any caretaker authority needs a legal basis and member approval, lasts at most 90 days and cannot automatically renew founder control.

1. 1

   Founding Association

   In progress

   Drafts are published. Consultation, Nigerian legal review, formal association formation, appointment of three founding trustees and the Chairperson and Secretary, founding resolutions and operator disclosures remain outstanding.

2. 2

   CAC Incorporation

   Not started

   Obtain name approval and register Incorporated Trustees under Part F of CAMA with three founding trustees. Record the incorporation date and the start and expiry of their initial three-year terms. Incorporation is not claimed today.

3. 3

   Legal Membership

   Not started

   Establish a formal admission register and appeals; offer every eligible legal member equal access to voluntary platform voting. Prepare lawful identity and age checks. An account, verification or opt-in alone is not legal admission.

4. 4

   Community Governance Activation

   Not started

   After readiness checks, elect two community representatives for one-year terms to join the three trustees on the five-member Council. The founding trustees complete their initial terms; activation does not trigger their re-election.

5. 5

   First Trustee Election

   Not started

   At the founding three-year term expiry, elect all three trustee positions together, then ordinarily every three years. Founders may contest equally. Prepare 180 days before expiry and publish the timetable by 90 days before expiry. Required association resolutions and CAC procedures remain necessary.

6. 6

   Legal Asset Transfer

   Not started

   Execute and verify vesting of domains, marks, branding, IP, infrastructure accounts, funds and essential assets in the nonprofit, respecting licences and contracts. Remove unilateral founder control and disclose dependencies.

7. 7

   Community-Controlled Organisation

   Not started

   Publish a final transition report and independent evidence of legally effective elected trustee governance and asset control, including remaining limitations. An online election alone does not complete the transition.

An open view of HeyNaija’s own funds: what comes in, what goes out, and the decisions behind each allocation. Lawful donations, grants, voluntary contributions, permitted subscriptions, platform revenue and sponsorships could fund the nonprofit objects, without buying votes or control. No profits may be distributed privately. The proposed bank mandate requires multiple signatories and two approvals.

Funds received

Where support comes from, and any material sponsorship terms

Spending and allocations

Actual approved spending; any founder or councillor payment needs conflict controls and compliance with CAMA section 838’s paid-office restrictions, reviewed by Nigerian counsel

Reports

Independently reviewed summaries, at least quarterly once money flows

A public record of governance decisions: what was decided, by whom, and what happened next. Moderation cases, identity details, ballots and personal data never appear here.

The terms, rules, privacy policy, child safety standards and charter apply today. The constitution is a proposal for how HeyNaija would be governed, and does not apply until it is lawfully adopted.

• Community Governance CharterCurrent promises and proposed public governance, separate from the CAC legal constitution.
• Terms of useThe agreement for using HeyNaija: accounts, what you post, and its limits. In force during the pilot.
• RulesHow we treat each other, and what moderators do. In force during the pilot.
• Privacy policyWhat we collect, what is public, and your rights. In force during the pilot.
• Child safety standardsNo child sexual abuse or exploitation: how we find it, remove it and report it. In force.
• Draft constitutionDraft v0.3.2: the proposed rules for membership, votes, the council and ownership. Not adopted.
• LicenceThe code is open source under the AGPL.