A mediation of expert, Barr. Valentino Buoro has called on the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to embrace the Alternative Dispute Resolution in settling their areas of disagreement as oppose to using court action.
Buoro who made this call in an interview with our correspondent ion Lagos recently said that both parties were unable to settle their differences even when the court had given them express permission to settle the matter out of court because they had not made any attempt to take the matter to mediation.
He disclosed that what the parties had done from the information at his disposal was to negotiate over the matter even as he argued that although negotiation is part of mediation, negotiation on its own is not mediation adding that if ANLCA and CRFFN go to mediation over the matter, there is likely going to be a better outcome.
In his words,” What they have done from my information is that they tried to negotiate. Negotiation is part of mediation but negotiation on its own is not mediation. If you ask me, if the CRFFN and the ANLCA go to mediation as at today, they are likely to find a better outcome. But the question is who will first suggest it? And that is one of the problem we have in ADR. ANLCA may not want to suggest it so that they may not be seen as weak, CRFFN will not want to suggest it so that they too won’t be seen as weak.
“But if any party suggests it or they agree jointly, let us go to mediation, a mediation house will be able to, if not totally resolve it, it will significantly resolve what the issues are now. As I sit here, I can as an individual reduce the issues if they are willing to listen to me but of course you know, I cannot because I am involved, I am a maritime journalist and I have friends among them. So, I cannot be expected to be truly neutral. But if they go to a neutral mediator, they might be a step ahead of what they have now”.
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