The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Abade-Toru Manga Community Development Initiative in Delta State have agreed to adopt alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in a matter before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions regarding NIMASA’s apparent failure or refusal to accede to the community’s demand bothering on the maritime Agency’s expected corporate social responsibility duty.
The committee was investigating a petition brought against NIMASA where the Abade-Toru Manga Community Development Initiative alleged that NIMASA failed to establish educational and skills acquisition projects in the coastal communities as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
But, when the matter was called up on Tuesday (yesterday, July 30), both parties agreed to seek peaceful settlement through the Alternative Dispute Resolution process.
Speaking at the occasion, Chairman of the committee, Rt. Honourable Mike Etaba said the NIMASA team led by Director of Administration and Human Resources, Isichei Osamgbi, had reached out to the Committee earlier, seeking to resolve the matter through ADR, pointing out that the movie was welcome to the community.
“The NIMASA team met me before the sitting and we have agreed that this matter be handled through ADR for proper implementation. If there is anything we encourage it is ADR. And if parties agree with ADR, we will go into it,” he said.
Rt. Hon. Etaba expressed happiness over the harmonious agreement between both parties, stressing that “there is nothing like harmony.”
Also speaking, George Wilcox Noah, the Chairman of Abade-Toru Manga Community Development Initiative, said he was satisfied with the resolution, adding that the harmonious agreement went to show that the community is not at any loggerheads with NIMASA.
“I am very much satisfied with the resolution since it goes in line with the plea from the agency, just to show that we are not in any loggerhead with the agency. We are not antagonizing the agency,” he said.
The community leader assured that going forward, there would be peaceful coexistence between the community and NIMASA and that sea piracy which savages both the Niger Delta region and the Gulf of Guinea, would be a thing of the past.
