Mr Abraham Umukoro, Displaying the Customised Conqueror Papers for survey plans
By Mike Jones
WARRI/Nigeria: In pursuance of professional excellence and proper documentation of acquired landed properties in Delta state, the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Delta state Branch, has unveiled a New Guidelines on Cadastral Survey Practice, which will commence on January 1, 2018.
The institution on December 5, 2017 in a press briefing in Effurun, said that the introduction of the new guidelines, which is in agreement with the Delta State Government, is to bring sanity into the survey business in the state.
According to the Chairman, Surveyor Umukoro Abraham, (MNIS), said that the new guideline among other things is to protect the public from unwholesome practices by some professional surveyors and their quark agents, as it will deal with, penalise, and sanction earing members involved in sharp practices.
He said that many people had lost their practices due to quark practices, and loss of revenue by the state government.
The new guidelines will also bring about uniformity in plan production for all jobs, through the use of customised papers which will be used by all surveyors in the state.
“The new guidelines will bring about uniformity in plan production for all our clients, through the use of our customised papers which will be introduced by the institution, for use by all registered surveyors in private practice come 1st of January, 2018.”
With this new guidelines, public awareness on the need to make use of registered surveyors to execute their survey jobs for proper documentation of their properties and avoid loss, just as a new price regime is to be introduced, as cost of production has increased overtime.
The institution, also decried the substantive loss of revenues to the state government through quarks, due mostly from survey plans not lodged with the ministry of lands and survey.
Mr Umukoro said with these new cadastral guidelines, it is expected that there will be control on the proliferation of fake survey plans, especially with the introduction of the Customised Conqueror Papers for survey plans, which is designed for every surveyor with a unique identification.
“The System is designed in such a manner that every Surveyor approved to practice in the state will have a unique identification and other security information captured on the papers allotted to him/her for production of survey papers.”
He also stated that clients will be protected as job paid for will be timely delivered, as it will eliminate all necessary delay, as the new system is coming with pre-payment for plan deposit, which will guarantee immediate lodgement prior to the production of certified true copies, this is to eliminate production of plans and sketches not intended to be lodged, which presently had been bringing revenue loss to the state.
The institution while thanking the state government for efforts to enhance process of land titles, particularly the issuance of Electronic Certificates of Occupancy, said that the government should make further steps to establish a further collaboration with professional bodies to promote speedy development.
According to the chairman, to further bring the attention of the public to the proposed new development, adverts will be carried out on radios and televisions, to keep the public in tune with happenings in the survey land profession in the state.
