Adekoya counsels lawmakers on speedy hearing of public petitions

In an address to the Strategic Retreat Session of the Senate and House committees on public petitions which held in Lagos yesterday, Mrs. Funke Adekoya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), also urged thecommittees not to dabble into matters which citizens have agreed to resolve by arbitration but to refer such matters to arbitral tribunals.Reviewing […]

In an address to the Strategic Retreat Session of the Senate and House committees on public petitions which held in Lagos yesterday, Mrs. Funke Adekoya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), also urged the
committees not to dabble into matters which citizens have agreed to resolve by arbitration but to refer such matters to arbitral tribunals.
Reviewing the provisions of the Standing Orders of both the Senate and the House and the scope of petitions by aggrieved citizens, Adekoya who is the immediate past Chair of the Nigerian Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), said that the jurisdiction of the committees does not extend to “situations in which parties have already taken the matter to court for determination or where an action has been taken on the matter by an administrative panel.”
Adekoya whose paper was titled “Improving timely and effective response to citizens’ complaints through the use of Alternate Dispute Resolution [ADR] mechanisms,” noted that most petitioners approach the National Assembly because they feel that they will not obtain redress in the courts or due to the slow or expensive process of litigation.
She advised the committees to adopt ADR techniques in resolving the petitions, moreso since the petitions are usually brought before redress is sought in the courts or administrative panels.
A former Nigerian Bar Association 1st Vice President, Adekoya said that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) “is a cheaper and a viable option for resolving disputes due to the speed at which decisions are made.” She noted that the ADR process promotes confidentiality and the role of parties in arriving at the decisions, emphasizing the pressing need for the committee members to be trained in the various ADR techniques to enhance their ability to determine petitions amenable to ADR procedures “as against those in which public [or private] hearings are required.”
Reviewing the recent Senate decision advising the disengaged staff of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to approach the courts for redress, the respected legal practitioner noted that the impasse would have been more speedily resolved through conciliation and mediation, being specialized ADR procedures.
On the need to refer matters containing arbitral clauses to arbitral tribunals, Adekoya who is a partner in the leading law firm of AELEX (Legal Practitioners) observed: “Where an aggrieved petitioner has entered into an agreement which contains an arbitration clause, your respective committees should direct the petitioner to commence arbitration proceedings rather than come by way of petition, as the parties have chosen how they wish their disputes to be resolved.”

She warned that the Senate and House committees are not well suited for the rigours of arbitral proceedings, adding that,  “The formal nature of the arbitration process (agreement of the parties and the appointment of an arbitrator) means it is not a desirable ADR process for the use of your committees in resolving petitions brought before you.”
According to her, arbitral awards are binding and “may be enforced upon an application in writing to the court, except where the court grants an application to refuse recognition or enforcement of the award made by either of the parties.”
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also noted that such awards are enforced in the same manner as a judgment of the court, adding that “Arbitration is by written agreement of the parties and this agreement is irrevocable except by agreement between the two parties or by leave of court.”