Surveyors move to review SURCON Act, extoll Kukoyi’s virtues

To address contentious areas of the Surveying Council of Nigeria (SURCON) Act, and ensure lasting peace and understanding to all, surveyors have constituted a committee to review the act.

President, Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, (NIS), Alabo David Charles, gave the indication in Lagos, during the 16th annual Adekunle Kukoyi memorial lecture, organised by the Lagos State branch in honour of Kukoyi, a past president of the institution.

Recently, surveyors who are displeased by the SURCON act’s content have been agitating for a review on the ground of it being archaic and irrelevant to the modern practice.

Specifically, some members of NIS, had gone ahead to drag the Lagos State Surveyor-General, SURCON and Lagos State Attorney- General before the Federal High Court, Lagos over alleged breach of the constitution and SURCON Act.

The court summon bordered on interpretation of the act ensuing from the appointment of seven surveyors by the Surveyor- General of the state as the only ones to carry out surveys in the Mende Revocations Area, Maryland, in Lagos State.

But NIS president said the institution has inaugurated a committee to review the act with representatives drawn from all the subgroups of the institution. He expressed hope that all the contentious areas of the act are adequately dealt with to bring lasting peace and understanding to all.

Alabo Charles also urged members to support the fellowship of the institution at the branch, saying the subgroup is the highest award in NIS and the keepers of the vile of the profession.

On the legal issue, he expressed optimism that the outcome of the case would raise the barometer of the institution’s existence.

According to him, if all goes well it would be a landmark case and will lead better understanding of the role of SURCON. He extolled the virtues of Pa Kukoyi and the dexterity of the branch to hold the event amid the challenges of COVID-19, stressing that great men are never forgotten by history as history remembers them in one way or the other.

The president further stressed the need for unity among practitioners to wade through the stormy times created by the pandemic, which has made everyone suddenly becoming temperamental because of the stress it imposed upon humanity.

The former Director- General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Omotayo Omotosho, in a lecture noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted negatively on the Nigerian economy, resulting in galloping inflation, increase in loss of jobs and employment, rising cost of services, utilities and food.

The lecture was entitled: “Review of Our nation’s Institutional Capacity for Accelerated Growth & Economic Development: The Nigerian scenario.”
She stressed that a cursory look at the economy brought to the fore salient issues that must be speedily addressed in order to strengthen its capacity.

These issues, she said, include demand for institutional performance and deliverables, organisational capacity, administrative capacity, transparency and accountability in governance and monitoring and evaluation of institutional capacity.

Ideally, each of Nigeria’s level of government, she said, should contribute to economic growth and development, especially in a democracy, by looking inward and developing its capacity for generating Revenue Internally (IGR), but the reality is that many states still depend on federal allocations.

Mrs. Omotosho called for further discussions among professionals like surveyors to ensure that scarce resources are equitably allocated of and appointments made in line with the Federal Character mandate to douse ethnic agitations and restructuring.

Earlier, the chairman of the NIS, Lagos State branch, Adeleke Adesina, regretted the negative impacts of COVID-19 on societies and economics of all countries across the world.

He said the annual lecture series was designed to celebrate him and appreciate his legacies.

According to him, the late Adekunle Kukoyi had remained a beacon for the surveying profession and the larger society and would continue to be celebrated by every orgnanisation, profession and community whose lives he had touched in his very purposeful and successful sojourn on earth.

The event witnessed presentations of awards to winners of the 16th annual Adekunle Kukoyi Memorial lecture essay award, which was won by Mr. Clement Benjamin Olaoluwa of the University of Lagos, while Miss Medunoye Idowu Boluwatife and Mr. Gbiri Iyanu Joshua, from the same university, were named first and second runners up respectively.

                                                                                                                            SOURCE: Guardian.ng