State govts should legislate against land grabbing —Women surveyors

Women surveyors have noted the need for state governments to come up with laws against land grabbing.

The surveyors, gathered on the platform of Women-in-Surveying (WIS) for its South West regional meeting, in Ibadan, on Wednesday, said the promulgation of laws against land grabbing would check the activities of unscrupulous land acquirers and extortionists.

The group specially commended the Lagos State government for the promulgation of the Land grabbing Prohibition Law 2016.

In her remarks, National Coordinator, WIS, Mrs Elizabeth Adekunle, decried that the continued non-involvement of surveyors in several construction and environmental control projects by Nigerians was reason for reported incidences of building collapse and environmental disasters.

She consequently urged Nigerians to patronise only qualified surveyors for their building projects to prevent disasters.

WIS members from Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states, in their various contributions urged relevant ministries of state governments to only approve building plans with authenticated survey plans.

Western Coordinator, WIS, Mrs Omolara Ajidahun, asserted that the Nigeria Institute of Surveyors (NIS) was committed to curbing quackery in the surveying profession.

Also, a former Western Coordinator, WIS, Mrs Adenike Durojaye, appealed to the Federal Government to provide aerial mapping of states, while enjoining surveyors to adopt the use of modern equipment in their professional practice.

Oyo State Coordinator, WIS, Mrs Toyin Fowotade, expressed concern that the surveying profession was dominated by the male folk, enjoining women to also embrace surveying.