REGISTERED SURVEYORS IN DELTA TOLD TO MAKE THE BEST OF THEIR PROFESSION

The Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Delta State branch, on Wednesday hosted its members to a Town Hall Meeting in Asaba to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of survey practice and chart a more viable course of action for the profession.

Addressing the gathering, the Registrar, Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), Surv. Mansur Mohammed Kabir, said it was not a mistake that the practitioners found themselves in the profession and must strive to make the best of it.

Surv. Kabir stated that surveying was a respectable and profitable profession and urged all registered surveyors to guard against quackery, which he said was a major challenge threatening survey practice in the country.

The SURCON Registrar frowned at the focus of Nigerian surveyors on cadastral practice, at the expence of other very important duties, stressing that the development had made the profession unviable and unattractive and should be addressed.

He, therefore, challenged registered surveyors to diversify to other potential areas of the profession to make them more relevant and highly competitive, urging them to keep abreast of the rules and regulations for the conduct of survey practice.

In his remarks, the National President of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Surv. (Dr) Kayode Oluwamotemi, commended the cordial relationship between the Office of the Surveyor General of Delta State and the state branch of the Institution, which culminated in the peaceful reconciliation of the differences that existed among practitioners in the state.

Surv. Oluwamotemi reemphasized the need for registered surveyors to distinguish themselves in the practice of their profession in order to stand tall among other professionals, pointing out that one way of achieving this was to get acquainted with the relevant guidelines and Federal Government’s policies on survey practice.

Also speaking, the Surveyor General of Delta State, Surv. Alex Eboka, said his Office was working in synergy with registered surveyors in the state to raise the bar of professionalism and thanked the SURCON Registrar and the National President of NIS for their interest in advancing survey practice in Delta state.

In an interview, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Surv. Meno Ibagare, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the Town Hall Meeting, which he said afforded the SURCON Registrar and the NIS National President the opportunity to educate practicing surveyors in the state on ethical issues, as well as provide answers to questions bothering private practitioners.

Also speaking, the State Vice Chairman of the Institution, Surv. (Hon) Charles Ogedi, thanked the SURCON Registrar and NIS National President for their intervention in the resolution of the challenges of the state branch and expressed optimism that the relationship between NIS in Delta and the Office of the State Surveyor General would be more cordial.

At the end of the meeting, which was attended by the Body of Fellows, other members of the Institution, and young surveyors of the state branch of NIS, the visiting national officers, led by the state NIS officials, proceeded to DLA road for the commissioning of the zonal office of SURCON by the National President of NIS, Surv. (Dr) Kayode Oluwamotemi.