By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
An Estate Surveyor and Valuer Ikechukwu Ikenna Nwachukwu, said the role of Estate Surveyor and Valuer is very necessary in resettlement and compensation process in Federal Captial Territory ( FCT) .
Nwachukwu made this known yesterday in Abuja.
He disclosed that An Estate Surveyor and valuer is someone who by his training and experience, an elected corporate member of the Nigerian institution of estate surveyors and valuers (NIESV), registered and empowered by the Board (ESVRBON) to practice estate surveying and valuation in Nigeria.
He said that the Estate surveyor and valuer are duly employed in the department of resettlement and compensation within the FCDA where the core responsibility is to proffer professional guidance in resettlement and compensation programs for the FCT.
He explained that “The Federal Capital Territory was established on the 4th of February 1976 by the then Federal Military Government of Nigeria with the promulgation of Decree No 6. of 1976.
“The Decree vested ownership and control of land in the area to the Federal Government and gives FCDA the mandate to design, plan and construction of the Federal Capital Territory.
“Prior to the establishment of the FCT, there were indigenous people from the three affected States of Niger, former Plateau and former Kwara. These persons were to be relocated from the area carved out as FCT. The affected people are referred to as original inhabitants”, he said .
He added that “To meet up with the task of relocation, the Department of Resettlement and compensation was created in 2004 with the mission; ‘to provide first class quality resettlement and relocation schemes in the FCT”.
“Inclusive of comprehensive valuation of properties crops and economic trees using highly skilled and professionally qualified man power’’.
This process of moving the communities from their original location to another is known as Resettlement”.
He reiterated that the Estate surveyors and valuer’s role in the Department is significant from the conception stage, implementation stage and management stage of resettlement schemes to achieve international best practices.
He said this estate surveyor and Valuer roles includes :Selection of site, Acquisition of site ,
Assessment and valuation of improvements on land for the payment of compensation.
Others are Enlightenment of stakeholders, Allocation/checking in of the beneficiaries of the scheme and post completion and management of the scheme
