Nigeria’s Estate Surveyors Partner American Society of Appraisers

In their bid to be globally competitive in the plant and machinery valuation practice, estate surveying and valuation practitioners in Nigeria recently went into  partnership with the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), to obtain an international certification.

Though, known as valuation in Nigeria, some countries use the term, appraisal to define the act of estimating value for tangible and intangible assets, plant, machinery and equipment.

The ASA, which was in Lagos, recently, according to a statement commenced the first stage of the accreditation process aimed at certifying the first set of Nigerians as members of the organisation. The programme was coordinated by the past president of the ASA, Leslie H. Miles Jr, who visited Nigeria.

The program dwelt essentially on plant, machinery and equipment valuation principles and practice and was hosted by Messrs Paul Osaji & Co in Lagos.
Elaborating on this, a renowned estate surveyor and valuer, Mr. Paul Osaji, said valuation was needed in various sectors of the economy such as banking and financing, oil and gas industry, aviation sector, manufacturing, real estate and such sundry businesses.

According to him, investors would want to know the values inherent in the business they want to put their money in.

According to Osaji, estate surveyors and valuers (appraisers) were in the best position to put them through on this as they have the competence.

Continuing, Osaji argued that investments have no border, saying that professionals have to continually seek to obtain certifications with international designations in addition to their national certifications, in order to meet various expectations of multinational organisations.

“An appraiser must invest in academic study and hands-on, full-time experience; and must prove competency through passing qualifying examinations in valuation theory, ethics, and at least one specialty, plus peer-review approval of appraisal reports,” Osaji added.

Speaking on the essence of the training, an estate surveyor and valuer, Mr. Kevin Ofili, said the training became imperative in view of dynamics going on internationally.