The Chairman of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, ESVARBON, Elder William Oruka Odudu last week, presided over the induction of 126 newly registered estate surveyors and valuers, vowing to use everything at his disposal to fight quackery in the profession.

The occasion was the 35th induction by ESVARBON and the 3rd under Odudu’s watch. Renewing the pledge to double the numerical strength of registered estate surveyors and valuers in the country before the expiration of his tenure in 2016, Odudu said the Professional Practice Committee of the Board has been mandated to accelerate the frequency of its registration interviews in a bid to meet this target. He disclosed that 402 estate surveyors have been registered since he was inaugurated as the Chairman of the Board in October, 2014. The new inductees swelled the number of registered estate surveyors in the country to 3,521.

The ESVARBON boss restated his resolve to fight quacks to a standstill. His words: “ The focus of the Board is to reduce the nefarious activities of quacks by registering more estate surveyors and valuers in the country. In this regard, the Board has put requisite machinery in place in collaboration with the relevant law enforcement agents to check the spread of pseudo practices and to bring to book culprits found guilty of the offence. It is worthy to stress here that the Board has instituted actions in courts against quacks who would not heed its warning. Let me emphasise that my focus is to battle quacks to a standstill”.

Turning to the inductees, Odudu told them to “go out and give a good account of yourselves and be good ambassadors of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers and the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria”. He reminded them that the stamps, seals and certificates given to them, are properties of ESVARBON which reserves the right to withdraw them, if their use is abused. “The rules and regulations of the Board should be the guide of any registered estate surveyor and valuer and their violation will not be tolerated,” he said.

Odudu also promised to pursue the accreditation and re-accreditation of tertiary institutions offering Estate Management. To this end, the Board has accredited Estate Management departments in about seven tertiary institutions and plans to visit six more in the first quarter of 2015. He also pledged to develop a permanent secretariat for the Board either in Lagos or Abuja.,