TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER OF 18 OCTOBER

Headline: Surveyors Task FG On Usage of Drones for Mapping, Others

Surveyors under the protection of the Association of Private Practicing Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN) have called on the federal government to loosen the restrictions on the importation of drones for mapping and other developmental purposes in the country.

The national chairman of APPSN, Mr. Thomas Dabiri speaking at the sideline of the 2022 Annual Workshop and Luncheon, implored the federal government to enable the accessibility of surveyors importing drones for mapping jobs under the supervision of the Surveyors Registration Council of Nigeria (SURCON). The chairman noted that presently the approval process for the importation and usage of drones rests with the office of the Special Advisor to the president, Mohamed Buhari on Security matters.

He stressed that getting a license to import and use drones for mapping is highly restricted because of insecurities in the country. He reiterated that the restrictions on drone usage are too tough and pleaded with the government to relax the restrictions as the profession has a lot of diversity in the use of equipment. He also noted that the lack of accessibility to drones has made it difficult to monitor floods, forests, oceans, crimes, and others in the country.

Mr. Dabiri assured practitioners of the association’s commitment to the cause and the need to work hard to see to the accessibility to drones for mapping.

Some of the major highlights of the workshop were the launching of a mobile App, the presentation of a robust survey management system web application for surveyors, and the presentation of 2022 newly registered surveyors to the audience.

Speaking on the theme of the workshop “Surveying Safely; Health & Wellbeing of a Surveyor.” the guest speaker Dr Okezie Obasi Kanu, a lecturer at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), gave some health tips to surveyors on how to take care of their health and vital organs like brain, breast, blood, bladder, bones, and among others.

TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER OF 25 OCTOBER

Headline: Flooding Depletes Nigeria’s Housing Stock by 203, 371 Units

Mr. Dayo Adeyemi of the tribune newspaper has reported that in spite of the huge housing deficit of over 200 million units in Nigeria, the recent flooding in many states has also sapped the nation’s housing stock, consequently increasing the accommodation gap and exacerbating the issue of homelessness among Nigerians. According to his report, no fewer than 203,371 housing units have been mangled by flood, destroying villages, towns, cities, and farmlands across the nation in the last month.

His report revealed that from Kogi to Anambra, Cross River, Rivers, and Bayelsa states, the effects of the flood have been massive as people battle to move out of their homes to safe locations. As the lamentations of the people are on the increase over the incidents of flood in recent times, the federal government has warned that the country is not yet in the clear zone and that five states are still at risk of experiencing flooding till November this year

Expressing concerns about the ravaging flood incidents, professionals in the built environment revealed that the persistent flooding was occasioned by the opening of Cameroon’s Dam and climate change/global warming and suggested ways to fight the problem.

Mr. Kunle Faleti, a US-based expert proposed the need for National Flood Insurance Program in order to assuage the loss. The National Assembly, according to Faleti, should as a matter of urgency pass a Flood Disaster Protection Act. This Act, he disclosed, would require buildings situated at flood-identified hazard zones to have flood insurance coverage as a requirement for receiving federal and state grants/loans from federally insured banks for disaster assistance.

Faleti further suggested that financial institutions should legally be required to act in accordance with the stated requirement relating to flood insurance.

PUNCH NEWSPAPER OF 31 OCTOBER

Headline: Stakeholders Seek Technology Advancement in Real Estate Sector

Stakeholders in the real estate sector have affirmed that for the sector to remain relevant in today’s world of technology, there is a need for technological advancement and recreation in the sector.

At a breakfast session organized by Knight Frank Nigeria, the firm’s CEO, Frank Okosun, opined that the built industry has been laid back in the aspect of technology and therefore needs to collaborate with major stakeholders in order to move the sector forward.

The CEO of Eximia Realty Company, Hakeem Ogunniran speaking on the theme of the event ‘Real Estate, Construction and Tech: The Future of Real Estate Services’ reiterated that technology has unsettled the space, so to remain relevant and still deliver on the job, real estate players need to connect to the benefits of this technology and recreate the old platform in order to deliver better results. Ogunniran also noted that the real estate sector is a key contributor to economic growth and acts as a growth facilitator for other economic sectors.

Speaking further, the CEO said that to harness the future of the sector, there is a need for the creation of assets through regulation and compliance, a need for technology commoditization and industrialization, and innovative f inancing through capital stock flexibility.

OCTOBER – REAL ESTATE NEWS SUMMARY

OCTOBER – REAL ESTATE NEWS SUMMARY