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Estate surveyors seek new houses for civil servants

By Nkechi Onyedika-Ugoeze
30 May 2016   |   1:00 am
NIESV’s newly elected president, Dr. Bolarinde Patunola- Ajayi said this recently in Abuja last weekend during the institution’s council meeting.
NIESV President, Patunola-Ajayi

NIESV President, Patunola-Ajayi

The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has urged all levels of government to develop residential property to house their workers.

This, the group said would lead to significantly reduction in rental value of residential homes, some of which are vacant due to their exorbitant letting charges.

NIESV’s newly elected president, Dr. Bolarinde Patunola- Ajayi said this recently in Abuja last weekend during the institution’s council meeting.

According to Patunola-Ajayi, if federal, states and the local governments could house their staff, the cost of rent will come down drastically.

He said, “The problem of rent control is in the area of demand and supply of housing units. If there is no constant supply and there is high demand for housing, it would affect the cost. If federal, states and the local governments can house their staff, the cost of rent will come down and those who are looking for houses will have options.

We commend the present administration for giving attention to housing as the minister has pledged to build 7000 units this year. If this is done repeatedly, in four years, a lot of housing units would be added to the existing housing stock and private developers will have no option than to reduce their rent”.

NIESV’s president, who decried the huge number of completed housing estates lying unoccupied especially in Abuja, called for the establishment of the Office of Valuer-General of the Federation where all property in Nigeria would be identified.

He also canvassed for private developer tax for all vacant houses stressing that all vacant property should be subjected to tax payment.

Patunola-Ajayi said that the council meeting would help the institution map out plans on how to pilot the affairs of the institution for the next three years adding that, his administration would focus more on capacity building to ensure that members are well trained to meet up with international best practices.

He said, “We want to keep to professionalism. Professionalism is a global issue; there is global framework and standards on how to render services in the surveying profession. We want to make the institution a household name. We also want to relate well with the government to ensure that they enjoy and patronise our services.

“There is need for governments to set up valuation and maintenance department in order to have value. We want to ensure that the association grows not only in number but also in professionalism to have the requisite qualification and skills. This is the only profession licensed to carry out valuation of property in the country”.

Meanwhile, the number of registered estate surveyors in Nigeria has increased, courtesy of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), which inducted 133 new entrants.

The induction ceremony, which took place in Abuja, was the second ESVARBON conducted this year. It had in March licensed 197 realtors into its fold.

Chairman, ESVARBON, Elder William Odudu, who conducted the event, charged the inductees to maintain high ethical standards in their practice.

According to him, the board has registered about 4,053 persons in the last 42 years.

The chairman explained that the board, which is a Federal Government agency, was set up to regulate the practice of estate surveying and valuation practice in Nigeria.

Odudu, who noted that part of the plans he unveiled when he was sworn in as the chairman of the board, said as desirable as the plan to increase was, that drive, however, is confronted with several challenges, among which is the pressure to lower the standards.

But, he was hopeful that despite the challenges, the current board would remain focus towards increasing the number of registered estate surveyors and valuers in Nigeria.

He said, “ We have a population of over 170 million in Nigeria, the number of registered members is not adequate, the current board will accelerate the increase in the number of those practicing in the country”.

While urging the members to adhere strictly to the rules and regulations of the profession, Odudu noted that the board was working to reduce activities of quacks by registering more qualified estate surveyors and valuers in the country.

He added that the board has set up committees to monitor the practice of the profession and also discipline all those that contravene any of the specific rules and regulation guiding the practice of estate surveying and valuation in Nigeria.

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