The Lagos State Office of the Administrator-General and Public Trustee (AG&PT) has trained Counsel and other supporting staff of the Agency on mediation process in the administration and management of estates, as well as the role of the Office in delivering its mandates to residents.
In her remarks at the capacity building and training held at the auditorium of Folarin Coker Staff Clinic Alausa-Ikeja, the Administrator-General, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, stated that the training was not only to inform the public, especially lawyers, about the functions of the agency but to also inculcate in them the prerequisite skills needed in the mediation process as a whole.
She said, “Considering the level of trust Lagosians reposed in the agency, all staff, right from the cleaners, front desk officers to all counsel must be professional in the discharge of their duties and assignments, as the agency will not tolerate any act of misconduct from officers”
The Administrator-General, in the delivery of her paper titled “Mediation process in the Administration of Estate”, emphasised the importance of mediation and negotiation when dealing with members of the public, as parties must have a better outcome than their prevailing situation when approaching the agency.
While listing some qualities of good mediators as resourcefulness, patience, firmness and emotional intelligence among others, a Director in the Office, Mr. Akinjide Bakare, disclosed that it is not necessary to be a lawyer for an individual to become a chartered mediator.
He also said the training offered counsel the opportunity of having an overview of expectations in terms of advising members of the public on their rights as it relates to beneficiaries and potential claimants to estates of relatives, who died without a will or a will that is invalid because of legal reasons like lack of an administrator.
