From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors (NIES) has threatened to sanction its members who indulge in sharp practices thereby creating bad name for the institution.
The Chairman of the Ogun State branch of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors, Wale Ojo, has warned members of the institution to shun sharp practices, but adhere strictly to the international ethics and the country’s codes of conduct for the profession to avoid sanctions.
He equally charged the estate surveyors to always maintain integrity in their dealings in order not to tarnish the image of the professional body.
Ojo, who pointed out that the contributions of professional surveyors and valuers to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product cannot be overemphasized, made the call in his address at the maiden edition of Kunle Olubode Lecture Series and Interactive Sessions entitled, ‘Integrity In Property Transaction: The missing link between the old and new professionals’, held in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
He noted that as population continues to grow and new cities evolve, the skills of estate surveyors and valuers would become necessary to maintain the values and integrity of the various asset classes sustainably.
Ojo hinted that various committees had been set up by the Ogun NIES to look into issues of non -compliance with the ethics and standards of the professions and apply sanctions accordingly on any erring member.
“If you are found wanting, there are penalties for such members. Even in this state, there are people who had been found wanting and they were made to suffer for breach of international ethics and codes of conduct, and that cut across every state in the federation. People have been made to have their licenses revoked on the act of gross misconduct.
“When it comes to integrity, in Ogun, we have couple of professionals who are well trained. In the last two years I have been in the saddle, no issues have been brought before the panel and that suggests to me that everyone has been doing his or her work according to the set rules”, the Ogun NIES chairman stated.
In his presentation, Gbenga Adeoye, an expert in management accounting tasked the professional surveyors on the need to embrace integrity and eschew selfish interest in order to advance in their field and become more relevant.
Adeoye emphasized that there are broken bridges to be rebuilt so that there can be a connection between young professionals and the old professionals.
“Young professionals must not lose touch with the older professionals. From time to time, they need to have round table discussions and reset issues .
“It’s important to identify the missing ink. Through the professional body, you can make your recommendations known to the government. For example, you process title document for 10 years, this is unacceptable and these are the things that you can change as professionals.
“All of us should reconnect with the elders that have gone ahead and aske them what to do when we face certain situations. Basically we need to see how we can eliminate selfish interest, one of the things that conflict with integrity is selfish interest”, Adeoye submitted.