Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has urged commission employees to consistently utilize alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques to enhance transparency and uphold due process.
Speaking on Friday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during an ongoing awareness initiative aimed at educating NDDC staff on workplace adherence to transparency and procedural fairness, Ogbuku emphasized the importance of ADR.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Rev Omeya Owoibo, Ogbuku highlighted that ADR strategies enable individuals to settle disagreements amicably, avoiding prolonged disputes and fostering a harmonious work environment free from lingering resentment.
“Adopting this method gradually cultivates a workplace atmosphere grounded in fairness, integrity, and accountability. Employees develop confidence that concerns will be addressed openly and justly, which diminishes rumors, distrust, and fear, ultimately strengthening collaboration and mutual respect,” he explained.
Delivering the keynote address titled “Enhancing Transparency and Due Process in the Workplace: Integrating ADR to Foster a Culture of Accountability and Integrity,” Professor Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, Founder of the Centre for Constitutionalism and Demilitarisation (CENCOD), noted that conflicts are inevitable in labor relations due to the often opposing interests of employers and employees.
Odion-Akhaine, a Political Science lecturer at Lagos State University, further observed that organizations, whether corporate or public, engage in complex networks extending beyond employer-employee dynamics to include service providers and contractual partners.
He also referenced key Nigerian policy frameworks promoting transparency, such as the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Public Procurement and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act enacted in 2011.
Earlier, Ogedegbe Godwin, Acting Director of Dispute and Conflict Resolution at the NDDC, underscored that the conference theme addresses multifaceted challenges by intersecting concepts like workplace dynamics, due process, transparency, accountability, integrity, and alternative dispute resolution.
Godwin elaborated that the workplace encompasses various elements including employer-employee relations, reward systems, capital utilization, employee engagement, productivity, and ethical standards such as transparency and accountability. He also highlighted conflict resolution mechanisms like negotiation, conciliation, collective bargaining, mediation, arbitration, and adjudication as vital tools within this framework.
