A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and an International Arbitrator, Mrs. Dorothy Ufot, has differed on the Supreme Court’s position that the enforcement of an award starts from the day of the contract breach, on the basis of the statute of limitation, rather than from the day the award was made.

Ufot, speaking at a seminar organised by the College of Arbitrators, Nigeria, in Abuja, stated that the new provision in the Arbitration and Mediation Act has altered that position by providing for enforcement to be due from the date an award is published. The senior lawyer stated that Nigeria will continue to be at the receiving end in the international community unless conscious efforts are made to make its laws conform with international best practices as well as represent the daily changes in the political cum business world. The international arbitrator observed that the length of time for bringing arbitration to a conclusion is one of the major constraints of arbitration and conciliation in Nigeria, and remarked that it is one key area Nigeria must get right for it to become a preferred seat for arbitration is the area of enforcement. She, however, counseled lawyers to change the mindset and habit of fighting to the last, “when it is obvious that they are losing the case”, adding that she had failed twice to enforce awards in favour of her clients in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the Faculty President of the College of Arbitrators, Mr. Patrick Ikwueto (SAN), has said one of the best things to have happened to arbitration in Nigeria is assenting to Arbitration, Mediation Act 2023. He, therefore, tasked lawyers to see how they could exploit it to their advantage. Other senior lawyers in the country took turns to commend the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, for signing the Act.

At a seminar themed, ‘The New Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023: Prospects and Challenges’, the lawyers said signing of the bill into law on the eve of Buhari’s departure from office did not only repel the 35-year-old obsolete Arbitration and Conciliation Act, but has put the country on a sound pedestal to compete in international commerce and trade. In an overview, a member of the college and erudite scholar, Prof. Paul Idornigie (SAN), stated that the new law has changed the landscape of arbitration and conciliation in the country. Tracing efforts at making arbitration effective and efficient to the first bill sent to the National Assembly in 2006, Idornigie disclosed that he was overwhelmed with joy when the administration of President Buhari finally signed the bill into law, bringing results to a journey of nearly two decades. “When I got the news that the president had signed the bill, I was so happy, I started texting, I started sharing,” he said, adding “if the president committed any sin at all, we forgive him.” Among some of the benefits of the new Act, he said, is the right of an arbitrator to step down or not when challenged by any party, adding that arbitrators now enjoy the immunity of judges in the regular courts. He also

applauded the section, which provides for the court to appoint arbitrators within 30 days if parties agree to go into arbitration.