The Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) tribunal has suspended a valuer, Mr Bode Araba for a year over alleged professional misconduct.
The culprit allegedly collected N3.5 million from one Mrs Oluwaranti Williams for building construction in 2013, which was not done. Chairman of ESVARBON, Sir Nweke Umezuruike, who delivered the ruling, said that after weighing the evidence of the complainant, Mr. Araba was directed to refund the said sum with interest calculated at the rate of 13 per cent per annum from January 2014 to date. He added that such payment should be made not later than 30 days from the date of the ruling.
The tribunal stated that should Mr. Bode Araba neglects or fails to effect the refund as stated, his name be struck off the register with ESVARBON and his registration cancelled.
If the respondent fails to comply with its directive, he should be reported to the police to face criminal prosecution and to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN) for further action,” the tribunal ruled.
Reacting to the judgment, the 74 -year-old Williams thanked the tribunal for the speedy judgment stressing that it would serve as deterrent to others.
MEANWHILE, ESVARBON has advised the Federal Government on the need to partner practitioners to develop reliable housing data in the quest to solve the nations’ housing shortage.
The board said government’s agency like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) should spearhead such initiative and engage estate surveyors and valuers to conduct housing enumeration stressing the willingness of professionals to work in such project.
Sir Umezuruike stressed that the biggest challenge for the industry has been the absence of data on the number of houses required, adding that providing reliable data in the sector should be the first step in resolving the housing challenge.
He noted that inadequate funding has remained a major challenge for the board in the past three years as its operations were funded through its Internally Generated Revenue rather than funds from the federal government as one of its agencies.
He urged practitioners to adhere strictly to their professional ethics to keep the flag of the profession flying, assuring the public that the board would continue to hard towards taking the profession to an enviable height.
