The South-East Zonal Office of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) has started its second phase of mobilization for prospective candidates for the one-year Post graduate Diploma in Cultural Administration (PGDCA) and two-year Diploma in Cultural Administration (DCA) programmes for 2015/2016 academic session at the two NICO Training School campuses in Lagos and Abuja.
The drive, which was led by the South-East Zonal Coordinator, Ms. Justina Akhilome, took the team to Federal and States Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Owerri and its environs, was with the mission of requesting and/or reminding the organisations to nominate and sponsor staffers for the programmes.
Some of the Agencies so far visited include offices of Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, NAFDAC, Education Quality Assurance Service, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
Others are the Imo State Commands of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Prison Service (NPS), Imo State Command; Nigeria Police Force (NPF), as well as Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Ms. Akhilome also led team visited National Orientation Agency (NOA), Imo State Council for Arts and Culture (ISCAC), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), and Imo State Tourism Board.
The NICO South-East Zonal team carried the drive to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Imo State Ministry of Community Government, Culture and Traditional Affairs, Anambra State Ministry of Information and Culture, and the Office of the Head of Service, Anambra State, among other agencies.
In each of these MDAs, the Zonal Coordinator, Ms. Justina Akhilome, met with the officers in charge, explained the relevance and necessity of the programmes for the organization in particular and Nigeria in general, then underscoring the need for sponsorship of staffers for the programmes before handing over letters to that effect for formal necessary action.
Agencies like the Nigeria Immigration Service, NAFDAC, and Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, promised to act positively, observing due service processes.
It is noteworthy that at each place visited, the Zonal Coordinator and her team were warmly received; and the drive by the Zonal Office Team and the follow up action continue.
Obumneme Nwafor & Stanley Onuachu
NICO Owerri