ESVARBON In Talks With States Over Land For Regional Offices

ESVARBON plans to establish offices in regions of the country. The offices will be situated at Kano, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Yola, Enugu and the corporate headquarters of ESVARBON would eventually be relocated to Federal Capital Territory.

The steps, according to the body were necessary to enhance its performance and repositioning the regulation of estate surveying practice in Nigeria.

This came to the fore last week in Lagos during a sent-off ceremony held in honour of the board’s outgoing registrar, Mr. Thomas Audu. Audu retires from the service after 13 years working with ESVARBON.

Mr. Ifeanyi Fidelis Uzonwanne, whose appointment has been ratified, is replacing Audu.

At a brief ceremony, Chairman, ESVARBON, Elder Williams Odudu restated the Board’s resolve to open the zonal offices come next year.

According to him, the offices will be situated at Kano, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Yola, Enugu and Abuja where corporate headquarters of the Board will be eventually moved to.

Odudu said it will be rewarding to mention some of the achievements made under past chairman and the registrar, which include increasing the registered members of Estate Surveyors and Valuers from 2,516 in September, 2010 to 3,119 as at the end of 2013; publishing for the first time the ESVARBON newsletter as well as effective communication through interactive sessions with members of the Institution and influential groups.

Odudu affirmed that with about ten months available to the current Board, about 83 percent increase has so far been recorded in the growth of registered estate surveyors and valuers, also secured moderate parcel of land at Abuja for the development of its permanent secretariat, which physical work would begin early next year.

“Also, efforts are being made to secure allocation of land from Lagos state government for office building. We are also making serious efforts in securing plots for our permanent zonal offices in all six geo-political of our country. To this end, we are looking to establish zonal offices at Kano, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Yola, Enugu and Abuja where corporate headquarters of the Board will eventually move to.

He maintained that since he assumed the mantle of leadership of the Board, it has added to these achievements in a well-articulated social contract of service to the profession christened “Seven-Point Agenda”.

The chairman disclosed that under the leadership of the present Board, they have been able to curb the over decade neglect of Section 6 of its enabling Act, which required it to produce register of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, with the Board having Register of Estate Surveyors and Valuers 2014, which revision for next year has reached advanced stage.

Odudu stressed that the war against quacks and encroachment into the profession of estate surveying and valuing has been intensified, which the recent valuation exercise by the NNPC was of note with the consequence of putting engineers in the proper place but not valuers.

The accreditation and re-accreditation of tertiary institutions offering programmes in estate surveying and valuation has also been renewed resulting to over forty institutions offering courses leading to the award of Higher National Diploma and first degree in the course.