By Jude Njoku

Henceforth only members of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, NIESV will be patronised by the government on matters relating to the estate surveying and valuation sector of the economy.

This development was contained in a letter by the Bureau for Public Procurement, BPP to the NIESV outgoing president, Mr Emeka Eleh. The BPE letter which was signed by its Director-General , Mr Emeka Eze, an engineer and past president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE affirmed and endorsed the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, ESVRBON as the accredited regulatory body for the industry and enjoined all ministries, departments and agencies of government to only pre-qualify firms of estate surveyors and valuers for facility management valuation, property management and estate agency services.

The letter with reference number BPP/S.1/CCM/14/Vol.1/40 of  March 7, 2014 read in parts: “The Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, ESVRBON regulates the practice of estate surveying and valuation in Nigeria and as such only professionals duly registered with the body are eligible to practice the profession in the country and can be patronised by Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government for valuation, property management and estate agency services”.

The BPP in the letter also advised the ESVRBON to encourage its members to ensure that their practice data is lodged with the National Database of the Categorization and Classification of Contractors and Service Providers to enable them access invitation for bids for government businesses in their sector.

“To this effect, the Board of ESVRBON is enjoined to encourage its members to submit their firms’ data in the National Database of the Categorization and Classification of Contractors and Service Providers so as to avail themselves of the opportunity to be categorized and classified as Estate Surveyors and Valuers in the database developed by the Bureau for all contractors and service providers intending or already doing business with the Federal Government,” the letter said.