Ajimobi Inaugurates Multi-Door Courthouse

As a measure of enhancing and facilitate quick administration and resolution of civil disputes as well as boosting the confidence of the organized private sector in the state, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, on Tuesday inaugurated the Multi-Door Courthouse.

Ajimobi while speaking at the inauguration of the special court for the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the premises of Oyo State High Court, Ring Road, Ibadan, explained that the Multi-Door Courthouse was one of the steps been taken by his administration to modernize the state and restore its pace setter status.

He noted that in spite of the claim by the state of being a pace setter in the country, the reality is that Lagos State, which is less than three hours drive away, has not only overtaken the capital of the old western region, it is 25 years ahead of Oyo State.

He recounted that since the inception of his administration in 2011, he has “worked assiduously to nip in the bud, the rampant thuggery and hooliganism that characterized the state, by ensuring solid foundation of peace, security and massive infrastructural development”, adding that his administration has also introduced and implemented many initiatives that are gradually restoring the state to its pace setter status.

His words, “We will make sure we make Oyo State a modern state. Look at Lagos State, it takes an average of one to three hours to get there depending on the traffic. Lagos state is 25 years ahead of Oyo State. We pride ourselves in pacesetter status, it has gone. We are no longer the pacesetter, but we are only trying to bring it back and I’m happy that with today’s commissioning, we are bringing back the pacesetter status.”
He, however, stated further that his administration has been working to change some perceived attitudes that are anti-development, saying “we thought we should change the attitude because attitude will determine altitude. We are changing attitude in Oyo State, especially attitude of dependency in order to ensure that we transform this state to a modern state.”

The Chief Judge of the state, Justice Munta Abimbola, in his address a new administration of justice had just begun in the state promising to use same to ease the task of justice system.

He said, “A new dawn begins in the administration of justice in Oyo State. We shall use it to ease the task of justice system.

“We shall make do all the enablements offered us to enhance and bear in justice delivery in Oyo State. We shall partner with Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG) and the ADR Society to ensure success in the adaptation and use of this alternative.”

Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mr. Seun Abimbola, in an earlier remarks stated that the multi-door court would be a wholesome complement to the Citizen’s Mediation Centre at the Ministry of Justice, “which had been earlier repositioned by this administration, and now on annual basis handle between 700 and 800 cases, with an 80 per cent success rate in resolution.”

The facilitator of Multi-Door Courthouse in Nigeria, Mr. Kehinde Aina, also noted that the special court has capacity to attract the organized private sectors and other investors to the state.