The Nigeria Institution of Surveyors (NIS) has agreed that the association have a need to do more on training, skill acquisition and ethical standards. They regretted that some unethical practice among members may have cost their clients some losses and is bent on addressing it with competitive training and welfare for members.
Chairman of Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), Akomolafe Ademola at the annual workshop of the Group held in Ikeja yesterday with the theme “ Professionalism on the Cross: Surveying practices and legal laws”, said the objectives of establishing the sub group of the institution is to afford members the opportunity of continuous development. He said the association has put in a place a robust strategy that involves maintaining a strong and cordial relationship with relevant associations and institutions.
Admonishing the members he said: “To ensure that our practice is robust , sustainable and rewarding and how to make it better, it is important that we practice ethically putting the interest and satisfaction of our clients in view but also working in line with set industry standards. To this end the APPSN and NIS established the Practice Monitoring and investigating initiatives to give bite to our monitoring and investigating initiatives. It is important to also to warn our erring members that the administration will in no way tolerate unethical practice of any type”.
Chairman, Lagos, NIS, Adeleke Adesina said they are poised towards sanitizing the institution . He encouraged his professional colleagues to be multi –disciplinary to serve the public more professionally adding that those who circumvent the law will no longer be absolved.
The Guest lecturer Barrister Ogbebor Osaretin encouraged surveyors to be multi tasking to ensure they deliver service to their clients. He said some clients have unfortunately lost their land as a result ignorance by some surveyors who were not diligent enough to get fact and figures about a particular land that is in dispute.
According to him when land is said to be in dispute are instances whereby two or more persons claim ownership of a parcel or piece of land, with each of them relying on his or her root of title to the said land, with a view to showing a better title than the other.
He listed 5 ways in which ownership or title to land may be proved as proof of traditional evidence;
ii. Proof of acts of ownership, acts by persons claiming the land such as selling, leasing, renting out all or part of the land, or farming on it or otherwise utilising the land beneficially such acts of time and numerous and positive enough to warrant the inference that he is the true owner;
iii. Proof of production of document of title which must be authenticated;
iv. Proof of ownership by acts of long possession and enjoyment in respect of the land to which the acts are done;
v. Proof of possession of connected or adjacent land circumstances rendering it probable that the owner of such connected or adjacent land would in addition be the owner of the land in dispute, may rank also as means of proving ownership of the land in dispute.
He advised that a surveyor who does not know the above will incur losses for his client underscoring the need for continuous education and skill acquisition.
He added that surveyors are the only professionals, statutorily empowered to carry out survey exercise on any parcel of land in Nigeria, with a view to determining its identity, location, size, shape, boundaries, area and description and to produce the plan thereof and should not for any reason shirk their responsibilities.
Leave a Reply