Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has urged Nigerians to embrace alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in dispute resolution, as arbitration is a better way of resolving dispute over litigation.
Onnoghen, while speaking on the theme, “Rising Cost of Arbitration Fees: A Potential Threat to Arbitration Practice” as keynote speaker of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArbs), said arbitration had come to stay in Nigeria.
“… Arbitration mechanism has come to stay in Nigeria because we cannot afford to lose the advantages associated with its practice. Therefore, the time to make a choice between encouraging the clients and patronising the institution and turning down their offers is now. “We can encourage them if we make the cost of the process affordable. Conversely, they can lose the appetite if we allow the cost to be rising without control mechanism in place,” he said calling on NICArbs to as a matter of urgency, do everything possible to save the situation.
According to Onnoghen, “The recent paradigm shift from litigation to arbitration is predicated on the impression that arbitration is less costly than litigation and this is one of the economic advantages of the mechanism.”
The theme is timely, especially in the light of recent resolve by Nigerians to embrace the mechanism as an alternative to court proceedings, he said.
“Recourse to arbitration as a method of dispute resolution has been on the increase in Nigeria, and of course the nature of the proceedings and the minimal implications were the drivers. Therefore, if the cost of the arbitration fees should be rising, then, the purpose of the institution would be a mirage,” he said.
Fabian Ajogwu, the vice president, Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArbs), said the institute was building capacity knowing there was a lot the country could offer instead of exporting all of her arbitration abroad.
“People see that arbitration is cost effective; by cost we are not just talking in terms of Naira and Kobo – cost also means the time value of money, because time has a monetary condition. If it takes so long to resolve a dispute, you actually diminish whatever you earn. So, we want to look at the time value of money, the nominal cost of arbitration and we want to make it affordable so that people can do it,” Ajogwu said.
Ajogwu stated, “We are delighted today that our institution have inducted new members in different categories. Associate membership, full membership and fellowship status, and it give pride in seeing that ours is truly an indigenous institute to promote arbitration in Nigeria, especially home grown dispute that can be resolve here with local capacity.”
Shola Oshodi-John, the registrar/CEO of NICArbs in a statement, said the institute has consistently work across all profession in driving ADR in Nigeria and making it acceptable to a larger spectrum of the population.
“We have entered into partnerships with different professional bodies to ensure that not only is arbitration seen in Nigeria as legal, because one of the things we want to do is to change the mindset of professionals about arbitration.
“A lot of professionals think that arbitration is only about law and lawyers; we have over time begun to educate and create awareness among professionals about the need to embrace arbitration. Like you all know, all profession have disputes, and it will lead to better ways to resolve the dispute,” Oshodi-John said.
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