Executive Secretary of Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), Mr. Daniel Asapokhai (left), Chairman of Professional Practice Committee (PPC) , Victor Alonge Alonge, NIESV President Dr. B.J Patunola-Ajayi and ESVARBON Chairman, Olayinka Sonaike at the at the yearly Estate Surveyors and Valuers Assembly in Lagos.
To promote good professional standards and provide consumers, accessible and effective service, Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) has tasked Estate Surveyors and Valuers (ESV) to adopt self-regulatory approach in their practice.
Chairman of Professional Practice Committee (PPC) and member of ESVARBON, Victor Alonge said the adoption of such approach will enhance the reputation of members.
Speaking at the yearly Estate Surveyors and Valuers Assembly in Lagos, Alonge stressed that good standards and effective regulation work will aid in achieving the aim of ESVARBON regulatory framework.
The ESVARBON regulatory framework, he said, should reflect the dynamic and developing nature of the activities undertaken by estate surveyors and valuers.
“It should inspire public confidence in the profession and promote greater access of estate surveyors and valuers to more job opportunities”’ he said
For the chairman of ESVARBON, Olayinka Sonaike the function of the board is to regulate and control the practice of estate surveying and valuation in all its aspects and ramification as well as to determine what standards of knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered as estate surveyors and valuers.
Sonaike assured members that the board will tackle every quackery and sharp practices in the practice of estate surveying and valuation.
His words: “These untoward practices in the practice of estate surveying and valuation will be bought down to the barest minimum and eventually eradicated.”
The event themed: “Estate Surveying and Valuation in Nigeria: Regulating the Profession for Public Good and Practitioners Development”, had other speakers such as Executive secretary of Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Daniel Asapokhai, Chief Risk Officer of First Bank of Nigeria, Olusegun Alebiosu and Professor Joachim Onyike,
Meanwhile, the second vice president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Emma Wike has identified negative public perception about the estate surveying and valuing practice as one of the major challenges plaguing the practice in Nigeria.
He lamented the situation where a lot of people look down on practitioners as estate agents even though they do far, far more than estate agency.
To address this, he said, NIESV under the present leadership of Dr. Bola Patunola-Ajayi is empowering the state chapters of the institution to go into aggressive campaign.
“We are working towards improving the knowledge of government officials, as we have discovered that many government functionaries do not know much about us”, he said
Wike , who spoke in several issues affecting the practice, also expressed worries that many clients do not take advices from their estate surveyors, which is negatively affecting value of their investments.
He therefore seek for more collaboration between members of the public , surveyors and government especially in resolving the challenge of lack of land data in the country.
According to him, state surveyors and valuers as land managers that have all the resources to do data generation and management, should be engaged by the government to address issues associated with land data.
He further encouraged younger members to embrace specialization in order to position their practice to greater height.
