The Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, has stated that the main aim of nominating members of staff of the Training School of the Institute is to prepare them for leadership roles in the culture sector and not to punish them.
Ayakoroma stated this on Monday, 7th April, 2014, during an interactive session with staffers of the South-East Zonal Office of the Institute held at the office complex, No. 9A Works Road, Owerri, Imo State.
The ES urged members of staff to accept nomination for the Training School in good faith because it is meant to boost their capacity by making them versatile and knowledgeable not only in culture but also other culture-related fields.
He enjoined members of staff to be patient with management and know that the inability of the Institute to carry out some programmes like the Matriculation Ceremony of the Training School, publication of NICO News for 2014 so far, and payment of some outstanding allowances, was due to paucity of funds resulting from non passage of the 2014 budget ny the National Assembly.
According to him, UNESCO has shown interest in partnering the Institute in the 2014 edition of the National Conference for Traditional Rulers, and pledged that his administration would do everything possible to move the Institute to the next level, and therefore implored staffers to contribute their quota towards the actualisation of his dreams for NICO.
He also charged them to make efforts to develop themselves and widen their frontiers of knowledge for their continued relevance in the Institute, informing that he was in Owerri for the National Conference of Music Educators of Nigeria (COMEN) taking place at Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, and that he will chair the opening ceremony and deemed it courteous to visit the Zonal Office as part of his constituency.
Also speaking, the Director of Finance and Accounts, Mr. Godson Ordu, who accompanied the ES, urged staffers to initiate ideas and programmes that would make NICO attain greater heights, disclosing that NICO would soon have a permanent office structure in Owerri and expressed Management’s gratitude to Imo State Government for allocating a parcel of land to the Institute for the project.
In the interactive session that followed, staffers of the Zone were given the opportunity to ask questions or seek clarifications on issues bothering them; and issues raised, ranged from payment of balance of 28 days allowances, union (AUCPTRE) check-off dues from the head office to zonal and state offices, non-payment of promotion arrears and other welfare packages.
The ES and the DFA responded to the questions and promised that matters within the financial authority of management would be addressed once funds are available and that staffers should understand the present situation of things, also advising the AUCPTRE representative to channel his case to the chapter chairman since management does not administer the union’s funds.
In her vote of thanks, Ms. Justina Akhilome, who stood in for the Zonal Coordinator, Mrs. Chioma Duru, used the opportunity to encourage staffers to embrace the Training School programme with all their hearts, and that as a product of the school, she could testify that attending the programme has made her to be well-grounded in cultural matters.
She also thanked the ES for making out time out of his tight schedule to interact with the staff and prayed God to continue to strengthen him and his team.
The interactive session ended with prayers at the instance of the ES.
Stanley Onuachu
Corporate Affairs Unit
NICO South-East Zone