Category: Building & Properties

The Disciplinary Tribunal of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) has begun prosecution of some estate valuers accused of professional misconduct.

The tribunal sitting in Lagos is hearing several cases brought before it by the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) and other members of the body.

In one of the cases brought before it, NIESV vs ESV Toyin Ilori, the defendant was charged with colluding with a non-registered company to secure and execute compensation/valuation job.

The charge sheet reads: “That you ESV (Mrs.) Toyin Ilori in or about 2019 and 2020, being in the habit of executing compensation valuation jobs awarded to Oserepal Nig.Ltd., a non-Estate Surveyor and Valuer and unknown non-Estate Surveyor and Valuers who get such valuation jobs, execute the same for such unqualified persons contrary to Regulation 6, 8(1), 9(1) of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Regulations 2014, and Code 9 the Code of Professional Conduct for Estate Surveyors and Valuers 2015, thereby committing an offence of professional misconduct, punishable under section 14 of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers (Registration, etc) ACT CAP E13 LFN 2004.”

Ilori pleaded not guilty to the charge, the defense counsel, however, pleaded for more time to study the charge as it was recently amended by the prosecuting counsel.

Based on the advice of the assessor to the Tribunal, the case was adjourned to 3rd September 2020.

In another case, NIESV vs ESV Paschal Chinyelu, the defendant was accused of posting abusive contents on the Whatsapp platform of the NIESV Abuja chapter and refused to remove it even after the executives of the body had reached out to him.

When asked to plead his case, the defendant claimed not to remember anything as he had an accident in January 2018, which affected his memory.

In its ruling on the case, which by law, is referred to as ‘direction’, Chairman of the ESVARBON Disciplinary Tribunal, Sir Nweke O. Umezuruike PPNIVS, noted that while the defendant had claimed not to remember anything concerning the allegation, including his response to the query issued in July 2018 as he claimed loss of memory, he was able to remember his bank accounts when asked.

“…the Tribunal came to the conclusion that the health condition of Paschal Chinyelu appears to be acute loss of memory, which makes him not to be in a position to practice the profession of estate surveyors and valuers and hereby directs that his name be struck off the register on all the instruments of registration recovered from him dated this 28 day of July 2020,” the ruling read.

Commenting on the legal backing for the Tribunal, the Registrar, ESVARBON, ESV. (Barr.) Ifeanyi Uzonwanne, stated that the law establishing the board provided for it to have a disciplinary tribunal.

“In the area of enforcement of discipline, it is no longer going to be business as usual. The board may have waited for cases of professional misconduct to be reported to it, without using the powers conferred on it by Section 13 of the Act setting it up. That section charges the tribunal with the duty of considering and determining any case referred to it by the investigating panel and any other case of which the tribunal has cognizance,” he said.

Our Reporter

Strong real estate brands that will have lasting impact must be built on seven pillars, a real estate strategist Femi Austine has stated.

Austine, who believes real estate players are just scratching potentials in the industry, identified public perception as the strongest pillar for strong brands.

The prime mover of Real Estate investors’ platform said: “No matter how good and reliable your product is, it’s not good enough until the public deems it fit to associate with it.”

He demonstrated this as Chief Strategist for DPKay Homes and Property Limited when he led the team to overcome wrongful execution of court order by AMCON on one of its properties on Lekki Epe Expressway.

The Lagos Wealth Summit 2018 keynote speaker at the University of Lagos recalled the victory with great relish.

“A brand is like a building; it takes years of experience to plan and then to build, but it doesn’t take so much effort to bring down a brand with one terrible event.

“This is why we have to let the public know that it was a wrongful execution so as to retain integrity we have built over the years. And we thank God for the victory,” he stated.

READ ALSO: ‘Lagos remains real estate investment destination’

Emphasising the needs for integrity in the business, Austine said: “To build a last longing real estate brand, first, you must be a law abiding player.

‘’The authenticity of your property must not be compromised. Your legal team must be extremely sound and be proactive.

‘’A land without a title is like a company without a CAC certificate; People don’t want to associate with that except for a few friends and family who probably do not know the adverse effect”.

Others pillars, according to him, are strategic positioning of properties; excellent team of architects and engineers; strategic partnerships and unveilings to aid marketing and sales intentions; consistent customer relationship and retention programme and top notch account cum administration policy.

On potentials in the sector, the founder of The Femi Autsine Company, an academy for human capital development, said: “We are yet to have a player whose pillars are in complete measure in view of the seven pillars.

“We are still scratching the surface in the real estate space in Africa but there have been progressive developments over time.

Our Reporter

A real estate and property development expert, Mr Babajide Odusolu, has urged the Nigerian Government to partner private sector in solving housing problems across the nation.

He said that government has no business engaging in the direct construction of homes for Nigerians.

Odusolu made this submission during the ongoing Virtual Abuja International Housing Show.

According to him, instead of the wasteful errors of the past, government should focus on providing a robust structure and support for the private sector to engage in the development of affordable homes needed to meet the huge housing deficit Nigeria currently faces.

The immediate past MD of the Ogun State Property Investment Corporation (OPIC), said while the government’s desire to provide housing is laudable, his experience in the public sector has shown that government cannot by itself provide all the housing units needed, nor operate as effectively as the private sector.

Odusolu said that the FG’s plan to provide 300,000 housing units in 12 months is not just impracticable but also insufficient to scratch the tip of the deficit.

He said: “Government needs to actively involve the private sector in solving the problems of housing and home ownership in Nigeria. An enabling environment in terms of supporting policies and improved access to capital would bring urgently need stability and growth to the real estate industry. The government should focus on offering location incentives such as tax waivers, rebates and significant concessions to encourage property developers to invest in semi-urban and less premium locations that will make it easier for Nigerians to afford homes.”

He added that the existing practice of developers focusing on delivering homes in premium areas is tied to a need to get quick returns on investment.

“If an enabling environment is created and property developers are incentivized to build housing units in semi and peri-urban areas with government entering into guaranteed purchase agreements to secure off take, there will be a huge leap in the delivery and provision of affordable housing units,” he said.

Such purchase guarantees, according to him, can be tied to a contractual obligation to train and use specified numbers of local artisans in every location.

This he said would also deliver much-needed jobs in a sustainable manner.

Odusolu who is presently the CEO of Octo5 Holdings, a real estate and property development company, said the old norm of Government awarding housing construction contracts would not offer the needed transparency required to attract long term capital to the industry. This is because “such contracts are usually tied to political patronage, are ineffective and actually dis-incentivizes investors; whereas if government provides access to seed capital, the private sector will deliver more than the announced number of homes at prices that are affordable for the average Nigerian.”

Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), is set to hold a virtual workshop that will alter the landscape of project delivery in the built environment for the better.

In an environment of embarrassing and unwarranted building collapses with the attendant loss of lives and properties, the Institute is taking the bull by the horns in organising the workshop with the theme, ‘Building Production and Structural Stability’

The workshop is scheduled to hold from Wednesday.

The workshop addresses critical knowledge and practice areas which include the following: Fundamentals of foundation design and construction, basic structural analysis and design of building superstructure, software application and design of building structural system, structural failure in buildings, design of concrete mix and field application, builders and formwork design in building construction, and detailing of structural element in buildings

The resource persons are highly experienced practitioners from various parts of the globe, including Australia, Middle East, South Africa and Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Institute inducts Novarick Homes CEO/MD

They persons, drawn from both industry and academia include: Graham Teede, a past senior National Vice President of the Australian Institute of Building and an advisory board member of the South African Council of Construction Managers and Project Managers; Professor Olabode Ogunsanmi of the Department of Building of University of Lagos; Dr Abimbola Windapo, an associate Professor in the Department of Construction Economics and Management, University of Capetown; Dr Victor Oyenuga, a past President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers; Kunle Adebajo, the Managing Director of Ove Arup & Partners Nigeria Limited.

Other speakers include but are not limited to: Gangaram Chennamsetti, an expert in precast and ready mix concrete and currently Technical Manager/Team Lead for Lafarge Concrete Business Unit; Abdussamad Ismail, an associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Bayero University, Kano; Dr Akaninyene Umoh, an associate Professor of Building, University of Uyo; and Larrison Towoh, Head of Design for Peri Formwork Limited

The workshop, which is being cohosted by Kunle Awobodu, President of the Nigerian Institute of Building, and Professor Kabir Bala, the Chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria and Vice Chancellor Ahmadu Bello University is open for participation to builders and all construction industry stakeholders, who register at www.niobnat.org and meet other necessary conditions.

Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

The Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has reiterated its commitment to play leading roles in the construction sector to eliminate poor building construction and save the nation from incessant building collapse.

President, Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Oladipupo Ajayi lamented the incursion of the sector by quacks and those without sufficient knowledge to undertake the complexities of building.

In a chat with The Nation over the weekend while reviewing the council’s activities in the last two years, he hailed the Federal Government for her approval for the association to commence the development of its Abuja office and the massive refurbishment of their Lagos office for optimum service to the public.

He recalled that Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, inaugurated the current ARCON council on June 12, 2018 in Abuja.

He bemoaned the inability of the architects’ regulatory body to get an office of its own, though it has been in existence since 1969 and promised to put machineries in place towards solving the age-long challenge.

He however said the dream of a self-owned building was already coming true as ARCON had just gotten recertification of a landed property allocated to it by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

READ ALSO: APRN initiative ‘ll check building collapse, protect architects

“We wish to inform you that the council was allocated two plots of land at the Jabi District of the Federal Capital Territory in 1999 like other regulatory bodies in the built environment. The council, just like all other regulatory bodies, was affected by the activities of the land speculators. However, it is gratifying to note that the current council has successfully retrieved the land and would commence development. Members of the council have made personal commitments in terms of monetary, material and moral contributions towards the immediate commencement development”, Ajayi said.

Appreciating the Minister of FCTA, Alhaji Muhammad Bello, Ajayi said the recertification could not have come at a better time than now.

The ARCON president also thanked Fashola, his Minister of State, Abubakar Aliyu, an engineer, the ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr. Mohammed Bukar for ensuring quick approval to renovate its Lagos office.

He revealed that the renovation of the Lagos office, a bungalow from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, is being undertaken by the supervising Ministry.

Ajayi said upon completion, both offices will be fully automated, befitting modern day architectural practice.

“The council was dubbed a council of change because we wanted to move architecture into the digitalized world. We have successfully put in place a portal that would serve the council better in this regard,” Ajayi said.

The Chartered Institute of Public Resources Management and Politics, Ghana has inducted Chief Executive Officer of Novarick Homes and Properties, Noah Ibrahim, into its Hall of Fame.

The institute said the honour was for Ibrahim’s “renowned urban planning/housing development personality of international repute, exceptional entrepreneurial colossus and trailblazing technocrat.”

Established in May 1995, the international institute is professionally structured to strategically advance entrepreneurial proficiency, cultivate management excellence and enhance the drive towards zero tolerance for corrupt practices in the various sectors of a nation’s economy, both in the public and private sector.

The award was presented by the Executive Directors from the institute led by the Head West African Operations Dr Richards Ikpada Kpoku.

Kpoku said the award is given to only individuals who have consistently demonstrated uncommon resilience and innovation in their various economic engagements.

According to him: “Noah Ibrahim’s pioneering attitude towards urban planning/housing development, advocating for the use of renewable energy in real estate development and his exceptional entrepreneurial colossus has not gone unnoticed.

“As a matter of fact, the institution is very proud of his national service delivery and the niche he has carved for himself leaving an unerasable mark in the Nigerian real estate sector.

“We can say with all certainty that this individual is an illustrious and uncommon professional.”

On motive behind this award, the Head West African Operations said: “The institution pays particular attention to identifying and recognizing highly resourceful and well-meaning individuals in any part of the world who have established and greatly distinguished themselves in their respective areas of stewardship towards nation-building and development.”

Ibrahim appreciated the institute for recognising his works and promised not to relent in his efforts to tackle the housing deficit in Nigeria while creating a path that the next generation of real estate professionals can follow and use as a template in forging their own path.

Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

Seso Global, Africa’s leading property marketplace which has operated in Nigeria for two years, today launched its online portal in Ghana.

The unique one stop property portal, powered by block chain technology, brings together developers, mortgage providers and legal firms to ensure a seamless transaction process for buyers. The launch, in conjunction with the British High Commission in Accra, gathered industry leaders and partners, via an online webinar, to present the unique and secure method in which property transactions can take place.

The platform uses the latest block chain technology which allows home buyers from anywhere in the world to view properties, receive mortgages or financing and engage lawyers to secure an end to end transaction across one system.

Commenting on the launch, the CEO of Seso Global Daniel Bloch said: “With the recent global events reducing the ability to transact face to face, Seso Global’s unique ability to host all stakeholders across the property value chain has never been so important. Ghana has always been a focus for the company and is a logical place to implement our innovative product with the country’s growth in tech adoption.”

British High Commissioner to Ghana, H.E. Iain Walker, who took part in the launch, said: “We are pleased to support Seso Global, a British business, in their rollout to Ghana. Through the use of innovative technology and operating model, we hope this company will modernise property transactions, open up new opportunities for developers and invigorate the real estate industry in Ghana over the coming months.”

Seso Global launched a similar portal in Nigeria in 2018, seeing rapid uptake by developers and buyers. The company also operates in South Africa. The rollout to Ghana is part of an expansion programme that will see the service spread across Africa over the next 18 months.

The real estate sector in Ghana is still active despite the recent economic downturn across the world. Online searches for property have significantly increased over the last two months with a clear appetite for investment, particularly from diaspora communities the company stated.