Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has urged staff of the commission to adopt alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes as a way of promoting transparency, due process, and integrity at work.
Ogbuku, in a statement made on Friday in Port Harcourt via his Chief of Staff, Rev. Omeya Owoibo, urged the staff to adopt the ADR measures for workplace compliance with transparency and due process.
He added ADR settles disputes diplomatically, promoting fairness, honesty, and accountability at work.
“Over time, this mindset creates a workplace culture of fairness, honesty, and responsibility. Workers become accustomed to having confidence that grievances will be dealt with in the open and in a fair manner, ending gossiping, backbiting, and fear while promoting teamwork and trust,” Ogbuku said.
In presenting the keynote speech titled “Promoting Transparency and Due Process in the Workplace: Deploying ADR into Building a Culture of Accountability and Integrity“, Prof. Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, founder of CENCOD Centre for Constitutionalism and Demilitarisation and political science lecturer at Lagos State University, noted that labour relations are inherent to conflict because of the clashing interests of the employer and the employee.
He noted that organizations also have interactions with service providers and contractors whose relationships often include conflict resolution. Odion-Akhaine referenced policy settings facilitating transparency in Nigeria, including the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Public Procurement and Fiscal Responsibility Act (2009), and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (2011).
Also in attendance was Acting Director of Dispute and Conflict Resolution in the NDDC, Ogedegbe Godwin, who addressed the theme of the conference as being interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, encompassing workplace relations, transparency, accountability, and mechanisms for dispute resolution through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and adjudication.
