Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Governor of Edo state, Mr Godwin Obaseki, yesterday commissioned the national headquarters of the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), cautioning against quackery in the built environment.
Speaking at the event in Abuja, Obaseki, while appreciating the pivotal role of NIESV in the development of Nigeria’s real estate sector, argued that Nigeria is currently contending with a number of issues in the built environment such as quackery, building collapses as well as real estate scams.
He maintained that these have called to question the place of professional bodies, challenging their existence and role as standard bearers.
But amid the challenges, he stressed that it was reassuring that the NIESV had held steadfast to its mandate, raising the standard for professionalism and ensuring that its members offer the best service.
He told the NIESV members that as professionals, it was not expected that the dire economic situation in the economy such as inflation and the attendant increased cost of living would have an impact on the work they do.
“In fact, the raging debate on the price of commodities, especially building materials demands even more subtlety from members of this great institution. It is in times like these that some of your clients would want to compromise on quality and ethics.
“ But I trust that you are well versed in your practice to be able to guide them aright especially in the light of the dangers inherent in compromising on materials and standards when constructing public and private projects.
“The wide spectrum of the institution’s area of influence, such as plant and equipment valuation, project finance and management, land and building valuation, facilities and infrastructure management, real estate consulting, environmental valuation, business assets and intellectual property valuation, among others, put you in a very critical position in the economy.
“This implies that your coverage area has profound impact on the larger economy and places enormous demand on your members as we navigate these turbulent times in the light of foreign exchange crisis and its impact on valuation of assets within the country,” he noted.
In Edo state, Obaseki emphasised that he had made several efforts to restore sanity to the built environment, working with professional bodies such as NIESV to ensure that standards are maintained and that builders act professionally to deliver the best of services.
In the last eight years in Edo State, Obaseki said he had embarked on a number of reforms to ensure that the space is opened up for investment, especially in the real estate and built environment value chain.
“Some of the things we have done include the setting up of the Edo State Geographic Information Service (EdoGIS), which has now simplified and improved the process of acquiring Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) in record time.
“This initiative has opened up the space for investors and also improves access to credit as people can now easily acquire and tender their C-of-O as an instrument to access capital.
“Aside this, we have also restructured the Edo State Ministry of Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development to be more private-sector facing with more responsive and dutiful work force who are leading the charge in the sanitisation of the built environment in the state,” he explained.
Obaseki added that the government is currently working on the development of the 30-year Edo Regional Development and Benin City Master Plans, which are documents that would provide direction and pathway for development for the next 30 years.
The governor explained that the achievements would not have been possible without the active support of members of the institution, who he said dutifully discharged their professional responsibilities in the life cycle of the deals that had to be executed.
The governor congratulated the President of the NIESV, Johnbull Amayaevbo and the entire members of the institution on the completion of the new five-floor national secretariat as well as the launch of the Real Estate Market Report.
“With Nigeria at a crossroads, we need the contribution of all actors to ensure we survive these times and re-emerge as the continent’s most promising destination for growth and progress,” he said.
In his remarks, the NIESV President, Amayaevbo, said the building was completed despite all challenges and that they had since been operating from the new secretariat for the past nine months.
He thanked the board of trustees of the institution, members of council, building committees and all their members for working to make the project a success .
The building, he said, would not have been completed were it not for the support of donors like the governor and lauded all who pushed to finish the project against all odds.
