Organisations in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy have been enjoined to emulate the Standards Organisation of Nigeria in adopting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms in their operations.
Registrar of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, Engr. Segun Ogunyannwo gave the advice at the opening of a training programme on ADR for forty (40) staff of the SON in Abuja.
According to him, since conflicts are inevitable in the work place, at home and in society in general, adopting the ADR mechanisms by organisations translates to developing people with skills to enhance teamwork as well as building and sustaining relationships for greater productivity.
The ICMC Registrar posited that the more people acquire ADR mechanisms in their relationships, the better for the family, institutions and society. He stated that lawyers at the bar and the bench among other professionals have also been adopting ADR mechanisms in settling matters even after securing judgements from courts to facilitate enforcement and execution.
Engr. Ogunyannwo commended the Management of SON for its foresight in adopting the ADR training as part of its human capacity development programme under which over a hundred (100) staff have earlier been trained with another thirty-five scheduled for Enugu.
Declaring the programme open, the Director General, SON, Osita Aboloma Esq. described the course as a generic one to complement the specific technical trainings being undertaken by all staff in their specific areas of competence in the last two years.
Represented by the Director, Human Resources Management, Mr. Abdulkadir Usman, the SON Chief Executive stated that the objective of the organisation is to promote greater human relations skills of the staff to enhance productivity and effectiveness in the discharge of its mandate to the society.
He asserted that ADR skills are necessary for all SON staff given that standardisation is stakeholder driven and requires internal and external interactions along the process. The programme according to him is to complement the on-going service wide training programmes for all SON staff to address specific disciplines and competencies in the last 2years.
The SON Chief Executive admonished the participants to take optimum advantage of the opportunity, stressing that the knowledge would serve them beyond their individual careers in the public service.
He also acknowledged the resourcefulness of the ICMC in spreading the gospel of ADR to enhance better social interactions and resolution of disputes in Nigeria.
Rilwan ‘Bola Fashina
SA (DG)/Head, Public Relations
