The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace Limited, Chief Allen Onyema, was Friday in Abuja conferred with an honorary award by the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC), in recognition of his emergency intervention that led to evacuation of stranded Nigerians from South Africa.
The Institute, which was established in 1999 as a professional body of practitioners with the mandate to regulate the practice of Mediation and encourage institutions and organizations to employ Mediation and Conciliation as the primary means for addressing disputes, said Onyema is “a man of great honour and integrity”.
Daily Trust reports that the Air Peace boss is currently a subject of an ongoing fraud investigation in the United States of America and also by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“It is worthy of note that the Air Peace management are highly reflective of the detribalized nature of Allen’s personality as you find a spread across different ethnicities, which is rare to find in recent times”, ICMC stated in his citation.
In his goodwill message to ICMC, Onyema, said he accepted the honorary award as “an ardent advocate of peace”, saying he had also implemented initiatives in that regard.
He said: “I did not hesitate to accede to ICMC’s request to confer on me a Honourary Fellowship Award because I am an ardent advocate of peace and have implemented initiatives in that regard. The Foundation of Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN) which I founded has been a potent platform for driving peace interventions and other social causes.
“In fact, the name of my airline is also reflective of my commitment to peaceful coexistence. So, I am keen on identifying with any organization or program which reflects that essence.”
Also conferred with Honorary Fellowship Awards by the ICMC were Justice Amina Augie of the Supreme Court; Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige; Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Garba Abari; a Chief Commissioner at the Public Complaints Commission, Hon. Chile Igbawua, as well as the President, Pro Value Humanity Foundation, High Chief Obiora Okonkwo.
Others that bagged the award are President of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. David Alabi; Hajiya Saratu Aliyu, Dr. Salamatu Suleiman and Prof. Bakut Bakut.
President of ICMC, Mr. Emeka Obegolu, stressed that the award ceremony coincided with 20th Anniversary of the Institute and expressed satisfaction that quasi-formal means of dispute resolution is gradually giving way to Mediation in Nigeria.
On his part, the keynote Speaker, Dr. Ozonnia Ojielo, advocated a paradigm shift that would place governance at the core of efforts aimed at sustaining peace through the implementation of a robust social contract.
