Ozekhome Urges Estate Surveyors to Shun Corrupt Practices

Human rights activist and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has advised members of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) to shun corrupt practices in delivering their job to the society.

Ozekhome warned that just like other professions, NIESV can be liable to legal actions if found culpable in doing their job.

The SAN gave the advice yesterday in his keynote speech at the 52nd annual conference of the institution with the theme: ‘Cities of the Future: Development, Infrastructure and Sustainability’.

In his over 70 page-paper presentation, Ozekhome said: “The problem of corruption can be seen in your organisation like it is in any other organisation.

“When you are doing your job, you are not immune to being sued, and your defense is not going to be that ‘I just valued the land’. Planning that has been given to you to estimate without a corresponding professional advice can lead to your personal culpability as an individual and a company.

“You can never be excluded from negligence. You will be held liable in an offence related to your profession. Even under the Advance Fee Fraud Act, the criminal code, there are areas where you would be held liable for malfeasance and bridge of trust.”

He recommended that NIESV must thrive hard to champion the cause of creating awareness on their core competency areas to make the profession different from others.

Ozekhome added: “You must ensure that building and managing our cities is put in the forefront. You must ensure that there is training and retraining of your members and people who work with you.