The Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, also an Associate Professor at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), has congratulated the newly-elected executive members of the NICO Multipurpose Co-operative Society (NIMCOS) on their electoral victory, urging them to do all within their ability to serve meritoriously.

The ES, who congratulated them in his office on behalf of Management, on Monday, 7th March, 2016, when the newly-elected EXCO paid Management a courtesy visit, said since members of the Cooperative Society have unanimously imposed their confidence on them by electing them to run the affairs of the body, they should do their best to leave a mark at the end of their tenure.

His words: “We want to assume and believe that you sought to serve with every good intention, because it is always difficult holding people’s monies. We have heard of people who took such responsibilities and failed; but our prayer is that you will serve meritoriously in such a way that after your tenure, people will just say: Let them continue and serve another tenure.”

Admonishing them to ignore side attractions and serve the people who gave them the mandate to lead the affairs of the cooperative, the NICO ES said they should be focused and ensure they serve with a clear conscience: “Let me tell you that as you have assumed office, you will be hearing many things. You will hear many allegations; but then you have to put all that behind you and be focused to make sure that at the end of the day, you will be happy that you served very well and that your conscience is clear in the service you have rendered to the Institute.

“If at the end, everything is still as it was, then there is no improvement. At the end of your tenure, let there be commendations that you have moved further, which is the essence of changing leadership. A new leadership should bring new ideas and innovations that people will say: Yes, this cooperative is really exemplary.”

Expressing confidence on how the society has been running since he assumed duty in NICO, the NICO Boss said he still believes in the ability of the new EXCO to improve on what they met on ground.

He further urged them not to relent in consulting Management on issues, especially the possibility of involving other members of staff in the voting process in the next election, saying as it is now, it is as if NIMCOS is an Abuja-based Cooperative Society and people from the zonal and state offices do not have any input.

“We have thought about some of these things and we want to say that you can always consult with Management on how this can be done when next you want to conduct an election so that everybody will have a sense of belonging. It means your electorate will be drawn from every state and zonal office, so that as you are doing election here, those people will b also doing same. With the help of the social media, you can collate the results simultaneously; after all, you can put up a conference call where everybody from the zones and states contribute; that is modern communication technology for you.”

Earlier in his brief, the Chairman, NIMCOS, Mr. Ibrahim Kantoma, said the EXCO had come to pay a courtesy visit on Management and to seek their advice as well as assure of their full cooperation with Management, adding that as a business venture, the door of the cooperative society is opened to both staff and Management to take advantage of the opportunities that abound therein.

In the company of the Cooperative Chairman was Mrs. Loretta Enwezor (Vice-Chairman), Sherifat Abdulrazak (Treasurer), Thomas Omopariola (General Secretary), Salamatu Yahaya (Financial Secretary), Iyaduni Adelabu-Idris (Welfare/PRO).

Present on the side of Management were: Mr. Alex Omijie (Director, Orientation & Cultural Affairs), Mr. Ibrahim Husseini (Acting Director, Administration & Human Resources), as well as Mr. Law Ezeh (SA to ES).

Caleb Nor

Corporate Affairs Unit

NICO, Abuja