The Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria, QSRBN, has threatened to prosecute foreigners practising the quantity surveying in Nigeria. QSRBN President, Mallam Husaini Adamu Dikko who stated this in Abuja, said the Board is already compiling the list of these expatriates and will soon commence their prosecution in the courts according.

The widely held view among built environment professionals is that the government has no business in direct housing production. To these experts, the government should only provide the enabling environment and allow individuals and the private sector to go into direct housing production.

…Says light rail, ferry services to commence soon
ALTHOUGH Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria, with an area of 356,861 hectares of which 75,755 hectares are wetlands, it has the highest population, which is over five per cent of the national estimate. The state has a population of 17 million out of a national estimate of 150 million. The UN estimates that at its present growth rate, Lagos will be third largest mega city in the world by 2015 after Tokyo in Japan and Mumbai in India.

The Federal Government should tell its agencies to make medium and long term plans to relocate their facilities which can be injurious to human life from residential areas. The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola made the plea last week when he visited the MRS Products Limited Tank Farm in Apapa which was gutted by fire.

HARD times now await illegal occupants of government property and unauthorized areas in Lagos State, as the state government, weekend, commenced fresh onslaught against all forms of environmental nuisance.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA, last week explained why it directed the Department of Development Control, to remove the telecommunication masts along Airport Road at Kuchingoro in Kukwaba District.

In its effort to abridge the challenge of housing deficit facing the nation, the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, REDAN, is set to collaborate with the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS and National Population Commission, NPC, with a view to obtaining accurate statistics on the housing situation in Nigeria.

The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide last week, announced plans to resettle nine communities of over 8,000 indigenes in the FCT before June this year.

…As NARTO lends support, sues for right approach
Pissed by the apparent disregard for sane packing by fuel tankers and other trucks, the Federal Government has engaged the services of military task forces to recover the rights of way of its highways and ensure disciplined parking of trailers on the 22 major flashpoints across the nation.

The President of Africa Union of Architects, AUA, Tokunbo Omisore has urged Nigerian young architects to be innovative and emphasize on indigenous architecture if they must survive in their chosen profession.

Against the backdrop of rot and decay affecting Lagos state- owned infrastructure, the State Government has initiated a facility management bill in the legislature. If the executive bill is passed into law, it will lead to the establishment of Facility Management Commission in the state.

The quest to have a foothold in Lagos Island has therefore led to the construction of sub-standard buildings by Shylock developers who charge outrageous rents; illegal conversion of residential apartments into commercial and even industrial uses and non-compliance with the planning and environmental laws/regulations governing the Island.

Condemnations have continued to trail the demolition of Minanuel Housing Estate, Abuja by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA. This is coming on the heels of a plea by subscribers of the 500-unit residential estate that justice should prevail.

ABUJA – The Federal Government has signed a Cooperation Agreement on Ecological Safety with the International Ecological Safety Collaborative Organization IESCO.

Nigeria’s construction sub- sector is set to witness a major boost with the introduction of the Construction Ideas Fund, CIF which is meant to stimulate innovative ideas that will boost affordable housing and improve income within the sector.