The North Central Zonal office of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) in Ilorin, on Wednesday, 9th August 2023 received and welcomed Mrs. Franca Okoro as the new Zonal Director following her recent promotion to the rank of Director and redeployment by the institute’s management to oversee the affairs of the zone. Addressing members of staff in her office shortly after taking a tour around the various units in the zone and receiving a handover note from the Acting Zonal Head, Mrs. Abolarin Bolaji Shalom, Mrs. Okoro thanked all the staff for the reception accorded her and requested them to continue to exhibit good attitude and dedication to work, as well as portray the same level of support and cooperation granted her predecessor. In her words ” I’m glad that I am here not because Ilorin is the best of all places, but because I have kind of interacted with you people the last time I came, I was okay that I am coming home to meet my people, I am happy to be in your midst. The reason why we’re all here is to discharge certain duties assigned to us, so, there is no time to waste, we have to set the ball rolling. I’m new here and based on what I’ve gathered, I am happy to have a team of staff that take their job seriously. Let’s continue to perform more, You’ve been supportive of the former Ag.Head, so add more support to that support, so that the Ilorin office and NICO in general can be heard everywhere”. The Zonal Director also used the medium to congratulate all the newly promoted eleven (11) staff in the zone who sat for the 2023 promotion examinations, just as she wished others success when their times come.Earlier on, while welcoming the new Zonal Director on behalf of the staff, the former Acting Zonal Head, Mrs. Abolarin Bolaji Shalom said the zone is indeed delighted and blessed to have Mrs. Okoro as its substantive Head given her outstanding performance as the Head of Orientation unit at the institute’s headquarters in Abuja and so assured her of the staff’s maximum support towards actualizing the institute’s mandate.Matching words with action, the Zonal Director after listening to different opinions and recommendations from staff on laudable programmes to be carried out within the year, putting into consideration the challenge of limited resources, gave a directive on the constitution of committees for the planning and the implementation of this year’s Children’s Cultural Fiesta for the members of NICO Cultural Club in Secondary Schools towards the end of the year.The meeting ended with glorifications to Almighty God for the life of the Zonal Director and the entire staff of the zone as well as prayers that her deployment to the zone would herald good things and successes not just in the life of the staff but in the life of the institute at large. Ahmed MohammedCorporate Affairs/ICT UnitNICO North Central Ilorin