International Day of Peace: Ambode promises to create more Mediation Centres
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Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has acknowledged the role of citizens' mediation in the promotion of peaceful co-exientence in the State, assuring that his administration would establish more centres in all the nooks and crannies of the State.
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has acknowledged the role of citizens’ mediation in the promotion of peaceful co-exientence in the State, assuring that his administration would establish more centres in all the nooks and crannies of the State.
The governor said that the Citizens Mediation Centre, CMC, has over the years recorded successes in conflict resolution on issues that could have degenerated into chaos and unpleasant situations
Ambode, who spoke at the celebration of 2017 United Nations International Day of Peace at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria was represented by the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Justice , Mrs. Funlola Odunlami
The governor said, “I wish to commend the Citizens Mediation Centre CMC, for the successes recorded so far and also charge them to keep up the good work. As the centre marks its 18th anniversary, it is my desire to see that by your 20th anniversary , the centre will have offices nearly everywhere in the state”
He added that the CMC had demonstrated professionalism in its entirety through its amicable way of conflict resolution, saying that matters that could cause disaffection and enmity among residents were being resolved within a minimal time frame, with all disputing parties returning home happy and satisfied.
The Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Funlola Odunlami in a welcome address delivered on her behalf by the Director, Administration and General Trustee, Mrs. Olaniyi Mariam, said that the celebration in Lagos State was in recognition of the fact that mediation had become globally accepted and conformed to the constitutional responsibility of government to promote peace within the State.
She informed that the CMC was established in 1999 by the state government to provide access to justice to indigent residents of the State and that the centre had since 2015 commenced collaborations with the United Nations Office to mark to the International Day of Peace as an annual event to propagate the ethos of peaceful co-existence among residents of the State.
The former Chief Judge of Lagos State and Chairman of the Lagos Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, Mrs. Ayotunde Phillips who was the Chairperson of the event said that the CMC stood better chance of guaranteeing peace than seeking redress in court.
He said that the establishment of the centre had aided the prison decongestion drive of the state government, saying that the establishment of the centre was a show of the commitment of the government to the promotion of peace
She maintained that Lagos State could not afford to undermine the place of amicable dispute resolution considering its cosmopolitan nature and its huge populace of people from different race and climes.
According to her , the incidences of jungle justice had been on the decline because of the mediatory role being played by the centre in resolving litigation.
She urged other states in the country to embrace the initiative similar to the CMC if the culture of peaceful co-existence would be entrenched in their respective States
The centre, used the ocassion to confer an award of Ambassador of Peace on the First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode for her role in peace promotion.
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