Message from the Office of the President – Agada John Elachi, Ph.D. FICMC, FCIArb (UK)

Distinguished mediators and members of our mediation family.

May I on behalf of the Governing council wish you a Happy New Year. It is our hope that 2022 will bring notable achievements for our great institute and members in their diverse fields of endeavours.

2021 was a successful year for our institute despite the challenges posed by covid-19 and its attendant effect on the economy. We believe that with your continuing support and commitment, we will surpass all our expectations in 2022.

I would also like to point out that despite the many challenges encountered; we made significant strides as an Institute. Our Executive Committee remains committed to the vision, objectives, and goals of this great Institute.

When I took over the reins of leadership in December 2020, our focus was to standardize the practice of Mediation in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. To actualize this objective, we began 2021 with the launch of the ICMC Strategic Action Plan (SAP), a document that will guide the affairs of the Institute for the years to come.

Some of the highlights of the activities and accomplishments in 2021 following the launch of the Strategic Action Plan:

1. Launch of the Volunteer Mediator Scheme (VMS) to provide practice opportunities for members. The launch was subsequently followed by the operationalization of the Volunteer Mediator Scheme (VMS) by the Abuja Branch, Minna Branch, and Port Harcourt branch. I encourage other branches to emulate the Abuja, Minna, and Port Harcourt branches. We have also secured the partnership of the GIZ-SEDIN programme in support of the VMS scheme.
2. ICMC Enugu Branch Annual Public Lecture and ICMC Minna Branch Mediation week. These two events were geared at improving the professional growth and experience of our members.
3. Global Collaborations with international organizations. One of the notable collaborations in 2021 is the collaboration with Deutsche Gellschaft Fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to conduct trainings in Edo, Kano and Oyo States.
4. In a bid to play a more interventionist role in the dispute resolution field, we began a series of discussions with Deutsche Gellschaft Fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit for the establishment of the GIZ-SEDIN/ICMC peer review platform for Multi-door courthouses, which will commence operationalization in the first quarter of 2022.
5. The Institute also partnered with the Kaduna State Judiciary, Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, Nigerian Chamber of Commerce Dispute Resolution Centre, Institute of ADR Registrars, and Nigerian Law School to run various categories of trainings as part of our mandate to continue to contribute to institution building.
6. In partnership with the Ebonyi State Judiciary and the House of Assembly, we successfully midwifed the passing into law of the Ebonyi State Multi-door Court House Law. Plans are currently at advanced stage for setting up of the Multi-door courthouse and to provide training for all staff and relevant key stakeholders.
7. We have made considerable progress with the ICMC Mediation House project. We sincerely thank all our members who have redeemed their monetary pledges to the Institute. We invite all members to support this laudable project. We still require about N250, 000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) to complete the project. We believe that with your support, we shall finish the project come December 2022.