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ECOWAS has ``decided to authorise the immediate deployment of troops to Mali, a statement said in Abuja on Saturday.

 The statement by the Chairman, ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, President Alassane Ouattara, said measures would be taken to implement the decision to assist the Malian Army to defend the nation's territorial integrity.

 It said the chairman took the decision in consultation with his peers and in conformity to Resolution 2085 of the UN Security Council.

 The statement said the deployment was ``within the AFISMA framework’’ and added that ECOWAS was committed to support the Malian Government to tackle its security crisis.

 ``The authority recalls its previous decisions on Mali and reaffirms its commitment to support the Malian Government in overcoming the security crisis.

``It shall hold responsible any individual or group threatening national cohesion and the decisions of ECOWAS and the African Union,” the statement said.

It called on the transitional authority to expedite action on the establishment of an agency responsible for political dialogue with rebel groups that renounced terrorism and violence in Mali.

It expressed gratitude to the African Union, UN, partner countries and the international community for their efforts aimed at stabilising the situation in Mali.

The Ghanaian President, Mr John Mahama, has pledged to support the education policy of the Imo government.

The Imo Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Chinedu Offor, said this while briefing journalists in Owerri.

Offor, who travelled to Ghana with Gov. Rochas Okorocha, said that Mahama made the promise when he received the Imo governor in Accra.

According to the commissioner, Mahama urged Okorocha to continue providing effective leadership to Imo people and commended him for his philanthrophy, through the Rochas Foundation Colleges.

“President Mahama said his sister’s mother came from the Balogun family in Offa, Kwara. ``He, therefore, pledged the commitment of his administration toward improved ties with Nigeria.

“The President said he had Nigerian roots and that it is in the mutual interest of both countries to ensure a vibrant economic and cultural cooperation for maximum benefits.''

 Offor said that former Ghanaian President John Kuffour also received Okorocha and urged him to work hard toward greater cooperation between Nigeria and Ghana.

The Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) said on Saturday that it successfully resolved a total of 780 cases out of the 1,708 referred to it within the last 10 years. Mrs Caroline Etuk, the Director of the centre, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

 Etuk said that most of the cases were referred to the court from the High Court of Lagos State, adding that the 780 cases were amicably settled.

``The cases we have settled during our annual Settlement Week since we started in 2002, ranges from breach of contract, landlord and tenant disputes, family matters as well as defamation.

 ``Generally, we handle the whole range of matters that we have on the litigation track. We had a lot of banking cases as well. ``We even had people coming in whose matters were not referred from court and they wanted to be part of the Settlement Week."

Etuk said the outcomes of the settlements were sent to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) judges who entered them as the judgment of the court.

The director condemned the poor response of lawyers and litigants to ADR and attributed this to the low figure of cases handled by the court in the last 10 years.

She said that the introduction of mediation and arbitration into the legal process was aimed at reducing the number of civil cases in courts.

According to her, embracing the ADR process saves time, is cost effective and also helps in maintaining cordial relationships between the parties in the dispute.

Etuk, however, said that the introduction of ADR into the High Court of Lagos (Civil Procedures) Rules 2012, had made it mandatory for lawyers and litigants to embrace the system.

 ``Under the new rules, when a civil case is filed, it is taken to the ADR track and efforts are made to determine if the parties in the dispute can settle the matter out of court.

``It is only when the matter cannot be resolved that it is re-assigned to the litigation track and the case is taken before the court for hearing,” she explained.

 The expressed the readiness of the court to handle cases that would be referred to it as a result of the new rules.

According to her, the appointment of 10 ADR judges and the recent training of 58 mediators, were clear indications of the commitment of the Lagos State Judiciary to promote ADR.

 She, therefore, urged lawyers to embrace ADR, stressing that it would help facilitate speedy dispensation of justice.

``That is where the world is moving now and we cannot afford to be left behind,” Etuk said. NAN reports that The Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) was established on June 11, 2002, as a public-private partnership between the High Court of Justice, Lagos State and the Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG), a non-profit private organisation. The overarching objective of The LMDC is to facilitate dispute resolution within the Nigerian Justice System.

It is the first court-connected Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre in Africa.

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said on Friday it had promoted 66 assistant general managers to the position of deputy general managers.

 Mr Nnamdi Udoh, the Managing Director of NAMA, who disclosed this at a media briefing on Friday in Lagos, said the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, had approved the promotion.

Udoh pledged that the agency would sustain its seamless air navigation services to its numerous clients, and the continued safety of the country's airspace.

He advised the newly promoted officers to put in their best for the development of the aviation sector.

Some of the newly promoted officers commended Udoh for recommending them to the minister for promotion.

The officers said this was the first time the agency would be promoting such a large number of people in one fell swoop.

The promoted officers include Messrs Charles Obi, Julius Ojewale, Damian Ejiogu, Fidelis Ogbonna, Samuel Madunagwu, Romanus Uche, Festus Aseghiemhe, Clifford Esoung, Anthony Omashor, Levi Nnadi and Mrs Agnes Chinda.

Mr Mecha Kalu, who died in the June 3 Dana plane crash in Lagos, was posthumously promoted.

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