In line with the expansion drive of the current administration of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), about 400 registered surveyors would be licensed to practice the profession this year.
These are new entrants, who would join the small number of registered surveyors in the country. Chairman, ESVARBON, Mr. William Odudu, revealed this last week in the Lagos office of the Board.
He gave this hint ahead of the planned induction ceremony for over 200 newly registered estate surveyors, coming later this month in Abuja.
According to him, those to be inducted in few days from now were elected, screened and have been registered to practice but they must be formally inducted.
Apart from this, Odudu added, in the next two months from now, the Board wishes to induct another group of people who did estate management programmes long time ago but abandoned the profession, saying some of them are now returning into the profession and the Board wishes to encourage that category of people.
“Some of them are directors of companies, permanent secretaries in the ministries; some of them are director of lands. What we are trying to do with this initiative is to package this group of people and ensure that they are fully registered to practice as estate surveyors and valuers in Nigeria.
This is line with the programme of the current board, working towards doubling the number of registered estate surveyors and valuers before the end of this year.
Since I came we have done over 1,000 and within the next two months, we are going to induct between 300 to 400 estate surveyors and valuers. When the current board took over we inherited about 3,000 membership and we are working to increase the number to about 6,000 before the current board’s tenure expires”, he revealed.
He said the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has worked out a programme to encourage this group of people in order to enable them become full members of the institution and the Board is supporting the initiative by fast tracking their registration process.
“Some of these people have had 30/35 years post working experience, who are now close to retirement. We want to see how to boost the income of these people even after retirement. Also, once they are registered, these people in retirement would be able to raise the bar of the profession in the rural areas, where we do not have registered professionals.”
He added that notwithstanding the initiative, the standard of the profession would not be hampered, as those who do not meet the minimum requirement would not be registered.
Speaking on the land acquisition, Odudu said only last week, “the Kano State Government allocated a land to the board, which it would soon take over to take care of the North West zonal office.
We have been allocated a plot of land in Enugu, which will take care of the North East.
“We have been promised a plot in Port Harcourt, which will take care of the South South. We have the zonal office already in Abuja, which takes care of the North Central. We have allocation of a federal property, which will take will care of the South West.
“All that is left is the North East and we are thinking of settling for either Maiduguri or Yola to take care of the six geopolitical zones. All These offices, by the grace of God would be established before the end of this year either in permanent allocated plots or allocated properties for us to function effectively.”
•The Guardian