Akwa Ibom Deputy Governor Seeks Support of NIESV To ARISE Agenda
by Akaiso Akaiso
The Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Senator (Dr.) Akon Eyakenyi has called on members of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Akwa Ibom state branch to support the ARISE agenda of her boss, Governor Umo Eno for the development of the state.
Sen. Eyakenyi who was a special guest at opening ceremony of the just concluded 2023 Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) Seminar of the institution held at Helennah Events centre, Uyo, said the role of estate surveyors are in tandem with the ARISE agenda of Governor Umo Eno, hence the need to support the agenda to achieve its goals.
Represented by permanent secretary in her office, Dr (Mrs) Grace I. Jim, the deputy governor who described estate surveyors and valuers as a team player in the ARISE agenda, said Governor Eno is quite passionate about the roles of the professionals, especially the estate surveyors and valuers in delivering Akwa Ibom state of his dream.
She described training as very important because it is a way of empowering and handing over the requisite knowledge and wisdom to the younger generation for future development of the state, adding that her boss is strongly in support.
‘ARISE’ agenda is an acronym for Agriculture, Rural Infrastructure, Security and Entrepreneurship as a working document by Governor Pastor Umo Eno as a template to guide his administration in the next four years or eight and if found workable, to be adopted for thirty five years from the present launched day.
The chairman on the occasion, Soni J. Udom FNIVS took a swipe on Akwa Ibom state government over what he called wasteful manner of land acquisition for projects which more often than not, will not take a quarter of such land thereby rendering such land inaccessible to owners for farming and other economic purposes.
He gave example of projects that land has been wastefully acquired by the government to include Ibom international airport and Ibagwa barracks in Abak local government, noting that even the Atlanta Airport in United States of America reputably the biggest in the world does not have such a large acreage of wasted land.
Udom who used the opportunity to call on Governor Umo Eno who before becoming a governor, was commissioner in the ministry of lands and housing, to take a second look at the communique that will come out of the seminar with a view to implementing all the recommendations therein to stem incessant conflicts among all the land stakeholders in the state.
On his own part based on past experience, the state chairman, ESV. (Pst.) Obot Akpan , earlier in his welcome address identified defective land acquisition procedures, weak compensation regimes and inappropriate entitlement mechanism as the root causes of incessant conflicts in project host communities.
To this end, he enjoined his colleagues and participants to listen to all paper presentations with rapt attention, noting that there is “a strong need to develop effective land acquisition with the capacity framework to deliver that type of development that takes care of today’s need without compromising the needs of future generation and theirs.”
The chairman who buttressed his points on the fact that in every conflict the estate surveyors and valuers are often on the receiving end as both the government and host community have always accused them of cheating the either of them, said with the kind of knowledge the resource persons will impart to them at the end they would be better positioned to handle any crisis in future.
Like the chairman did say, participants gave a standing ovation to all the resource persons at the end of each lecture indicating that the lectures d and understood.
