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THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015<br />
PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT<br />
THE Association of Estate<br />
Agents of Nigeria (AEAN)<br />
has been urged to caution its<br />
members against misconduct.<br />
It also urged agents to imbibe ethics<br />
and operate according to the<br />
laws of the Estate Surveyors and<br />
Valuers Board of Nigeria<br />
(ESVARBON).<br />
Chairman, ESVARBON, Mr. William<br />
Odudu, gave the advice at the<br />
first yearly conference of AEAN<br />
in Lagos.<br />
It had as theme “The public perception<br />
of estate agency practice<br />
in Nigeria”.<br />
According to Odudu, the conference,<br />
was timely considering that<br />
the practice of estate agency by estate<br />
agents, estate brokers, property<br />
companies, home finders,<br />
among others, had been haphazard<br />
and fraught with all shades of<br />
unethical conducts and unhealthy<br />
rivalries.<br />
“Estate agency business became<br />
an open field for the floatsan and<br />
jetsam of the society with poor<br />
public esteem,” Odudu said.<br />
He said ESVARBON can penalise<br />
any erring estate agent who fails<br />
to comply with its regulations.<br />
Besides, he said, the body would<br />
produce a register of estate agents<br />
or companies.<br />
To check estate agents, he said<br />
registered estate agents are expected<br />
to attend Mandatory Continuing<br />
Professional Development<br />
(MCPD) workshops, training,<br />
seminars and conferences. This is<br />
to enable them develop and maintain<br />
capabilities to perform competently<br />
within a professional environment.<br />
To this end, credit<br />
points will now be awarded to operators<br />
for attendance and participation<br />
in approved MCPD, as this<br />
will form part of the prerequisites<br />
for the yearly renewal of licence<br />
for registered estate agents.<br />
“The business of estate agency is<br />
no more business as usual. Today’s<br />
annual general conference carries<br />
three points and you require<br />
about 20 points to qualify for an-<br />
IT was joy galore for owners<br />
of Block 6, in Progressive Es<br />
tate, Iponri, Lagos, when the<br />
Lagos State government handed<br />
over a brand new house to them.<br />
The old edifice was dilapidated<br />
and had to be pulled down.<br />
The new building, a block of<br />
three-bedroom, six flats, was rebuilt<br />
by the Governor Babatunde<br />
Fashola administration and<br />
haned to the owners free.<br />
The old structure, built during<br />
the administration of former<br />
governor of the state, Alhaji<br />
Lateef Jakande, under the<br />
administration’s low cost hous-<br />
•From left: Principal Partner, Unigwe and Co., Mr. Azuidike Unigwe; Managing<br />
Director, Verdant Zeal, Mr. Tunji Olugbodi; First Vice-President,<br />
Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Bolarinde<br />
Patunola-Ajayi; AGM, Real Estate Transaction Department, Lagos State,<br />
Mrs. Linda Patunola-Ajayi; Odudu; Registrar, ESVARBON, Mr. Thomas<br />
Audu, and others at the AEAN First yearly conference in Lagos.<br />
Surveyors caution<br />
agents on misconduct<br />
Stories by Muyiwa Lucas<br />
nual licence renewal,” Odudu explained.<br />
Similarly, the Chairman, Conference<br />
Planning Committee, Mr.<br />
Boye Ajayi, noted that in the last<br />
one year, members of have undergone<br />
series of training programs,<br />
workshops and seminars.<br />
Ajayi said the attention being<br />
directed at estate agency practice<br />
had raised the hope that issues of<br />
Lagos hands over rebuilt block<br />
ing scheme, had defects.<br />
According to the owners, the<br />
handing over of the new building<br />
ended a tortuous journey of<br />
27 years.<br />
Recounting their experience,<br />
the owners said they sent their<br />
first complaints about the defects<br />
in 1988, via a letter to the<br />
General Manager of the Lagos<br />
Building Investment Company<br />
Limited (LBIC).<br />
Ten years later, another letter<br />
was sent to the then Military Administrator<br />
of the state, Col.<br />
Buba Marwa; this was followed<br />
by another letter in September<br />
regulation and control of the sector<br />
were receiving attention.<br />
Specifically, he noted quackery<br />
as serious.<br />
“It is as serious as fake drugs!<br />
Most times, we have read in the<br />
newspapers the incidence of fake<br />
agents who made away with their<br />
clients’ funds,” he said, adding<br />
that the conference had helped to<br />
focus on re-inventing and re-positioning<br />
the estate agent towards<br />
achieving global best practices.<br />
‘It is as serious as fake drugs! Most times,<br />
we have read in the newspapers the incidence<br />
of fake agents who made away with<br />
their clients’ funds... The business of estate<br />
agency is no more business as usual’<br />
•From left: Senior Special Assistant on Housing to Lagos State Governor, Michael Akindele; Permanent Secretary,<br />
Ministry of Housing, Odunlami Olatunji handing over keys to beneficiaries.<br />
1998.<br />
But a glimmer of hope appeared<br />
on the horizon when on<br />
July 21, 2007, a letter they sent to<br />
Fashola was acknowledged.<br />
“The governor (Fashola) acted<br />
promptly by sending our file to<br />
the Commissioner of Physical<br />
Planning for investigation and<br />
inspection of the building. From<br />
that time, the administration<br />
never left our matter; and the result<br />
is what you are all seeing today,”<br />
the allotees said.<br />
They expressed appreciation to<br />
those who assisted in making<br />
their dream a reality.<br />
Architects hold conference May 6u<br />
ARCHITECTS will con<br />
verge from May<br />
6-9, this year on the Eko<br />
Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island,<br />
Lagos to fashion out modalities<br />
for growth.<br />
The event, held by the Nigerian<br />
Institute of Architecture (NIA),<br />
Lagos State Chapter, has as<br />
theme: Lagos 6.0 – The business of<br />
architecture.<br />
Chairman, Lagos NIA, Mr.<br />
Ladipo Lewis, said this year’s<br />
theme is aimed at discussing key<br />
issues and exposing the participants<br />
to methodologies and<br />
strategies that can be deployed<br />
in setting up and running an efficient<br />
architectural practice;<br />
types of partnerships architects<br />
can go into; design and build in<br />
the construction industry; office<br />
management; joint ventures;<br />
marketing of architectural services;<br />
winning local and international<br />
architectural competitions;<br />
architectural practice in<br />
foreign countries. It will also expose<br />
them to learning being a<br />
sole practitioner as an architect,<br />
including the new trends in architectural<br />
practice, among others.<br />
To this end, experts in the Business<br />
of Architecture from across<br />
the country and the world over<br />
have been shortlisted to share<br />
their breakthrough ideas and<br />
wealth of experience with the<br />
THE organisers of the Second<br />
Africa Urban Infrastructure<br />
Investment Forum (AUIIF)<br />
have shortlisted entries for the<br />
inaugural African Mayor Awards.<br />
The awards, which showcases<br />
excellence in urban development,<br />
will take place in Luanda on Friday.<br />
Ana Cândido and Audrey<br />
Mpunzwana, said in the ‘Large Metropolis’<br />
category, with one million<br />
residents or more, Accra,<br />
Ghana; Cape Town, South Africa<br />
and Dakar, Senegal were<br />
shortlisted.<br />
In the intermediate, or mediumsized<br />
cities category, localities with<br />
less than one million and more<br />
than 200,000 residents, Kinondoni,<br />
Tanzania; Asunafo, Ghana<br />
and Bissau, Guinea-Bissau were<br />
selected. In the small cities category,<br />
for cities with up to 200,000<br />
residents, Arua, Uganda;<br />
Bangangte, Cameroon and Praia,<br />
Cape Verde made the shortlist.<br />
The finalists were selected by a<br />
panel, which includes Jean Pierre<br />
Elong Mbassi, General-Secretary of<br />
United Cities and Local Governments-Africa<br />
(UCLG-A), Tokunbo<br />
Omisore, Chairman of the African<br />
Union of Architects, Aisa<br />
Kirabo Kacyira, Assistant Secretary-General<br />
and Deputy Executive<br />
Director for UN-Habitat,<br />
Vitor Leonel Miguel, Chairman<br />
of the Angolan Architects Union<br />
and Gaetan Siew, Chair, Construction<br />
Industry Sector of<br />
Mauritius.<br />
They are held with the Second<br />
Africa Urban Infrastructure Investment<br />
Forum (AUIIF) which<br />
discussed post-conflict reconstruction<br />
and turning African cities<br />
into economic power houses.<br />
Pedro Pires, former president,<br />
Cape Verde and Mo Ibrahim laureate<br />
will deliver the Keynote Address<br />
at the Forum.<br />
Under Pires’ leadership, the<br />
capital city of the island state<br />
grew and expanded, with investment<br />
in urban infrastructure, supported<br />
by appropriate housing<br />
designed to manage the transition<br />
from rural to city life.<br />
Examples of such innovation<br />
and transformational development<br />
will be among the themes<br />
49<br />
participants.<br />
The rapporteurs include Mr.<br />
Femi Falana (SAN), Paolo Zilli,<br />
Theodore Liebman, Ade Yusuf,<br />
O.P.A Ladega, Ibare Akinsan,<br />
Tayo Babalakin, Arc. Roti<br />
Delano, Olawunmi Agbaje and<br />
a host of others.<br />
The group’s Public Relations<br />
Officer, Samson Akinyosoye,<br />
said the forum would also provide<br />
the participants the opportunity<br />
to network with developers,<br />
architects and key players<br />
in the industry.<br />
He further said it would position<br />
architects to understand the<br />
economic climate, learn about<br />
best practices in sustainable development,<br />
get leads to developing<br />
quality business models,<br />
network with key players in the<br />
built environment and position<br />
their business for the new wave<br />
of development opportunities<br />
and technology available, and<br />
discover innovative methods of<br />
development within the current<br />
economic climates<br />
These include product<br />
launches, display of products<br />
and services, exhibition of architects<br />
works, workshops, seminars,<br />
advertisement, partnership<br />
opportunities, post-conference<br />
site tours and others.<br />
A communiqué will be issued<br />
at the end of the three-day event.<br />
Accra, Cape Town, Dakar, others for<br />
African Mayor Awards<br />
By Bola Olajuwon<br />
of the second AUIIF, which seeks<br />
to propose the concrete steps to<br />
be taken to maximise the effectiveness<br />
of urban infrastructure<br />
development, from finance<br />
through design to implementation.<br />
The forum will be incorporated<br />
in the programme of the<br />
Seventh Edition of the Africities<br />
summit in December, this year,<br />
in Johannesburg, South Africa.<br />
Publisher of African Business<br />
magazine Omar Ben Yedder,<br />
who are organisers, said he was<br />
impressed with the calibre of<br />
conference speakers.<br />
He said: “Urbanisation is the<br />
development challenge of the<br />
next 20 years. Functioning cities<br />
create wealth. Unless we plan<br />
and think properly about what<br />
the future will look like and<br />
where our cities fit into this future,<br />
we will face immense problems<br />
and any retroactive action<br />
will prove costly and ineffective.<br />
The cities shortlisted today are<br />
being led by people who understand<br />
this and who are making<br />
great strides in creating livable<br />
cities that are creating wealth. He<br />
added: “We are also delighted to<br />
have so many dignitaries with us<br />
this year which shows that policy<br />
makers are taking this issue very<br />
seriously, starting with our hosts<br />
the government of Angola.”<br />
•Angolan President, Jose Eduardo<br />
dos Santos