Extend infrastructural development to rural communities to decongest cities, NIESV charges FG, states

By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure

Both federal and state governments have been called upon to extend infrastructural development to rural communities in the country in a bid to decongest the cities.

The Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) President, Johnbull Amayaevbo, made the call on Sunday during the investiture ceremony of Oloruntoba Idris as the 15th Chairman of the Ondo State Branch of the institution and the inauguration of the 2022/2024 executive committee.

According to Amayaevbo, the institution had been making moves to partner the government on how the decongestion process can be achieved seamlessly.

The body, therefore, advised that the most appropriate way to prevent cities from being overpopulated by those in search of greener pasture, was to ensure that institutions, industries among others thrived in communities outside the cities.

He said, “Take for instance, a country like South Africa, if you have been to Sun City, it was a bush, but some people came up and did a proposal. Sun City is one of the best cities in South Africa today.

“So we will partner and collaborate with the state governments to extend infrastructural facilities out of the cities to decongest the cities. If we have good infrastructure outside the cities, if we have higher institutions outside the cities, if we have good industries outside the cities and if there is power, many people will not come into the city and start dragging for nothing.

“So we will advise the government and we have been doing that but we will not be tired of doing it to making sure that they take our proposal and I know that this state governor (Akeredolu) listen a lot and most other governors too.

“So we will collaborate with government to ensure that infrastructural provision is key and we will give them more technical advise and report on how to achieving the decongestion of our cities in collaboration with other professional bodies.”

Amayaevbo, who also spoke on how the institution had been tackling quackery within its fold, said, “we are doing a lot of advocacy right now to let the public know who the quacks are and who the estate agents are.

“Currently, we are part of those sponsoring a bill at the National Assembly regarding estate agency law in Nigeria. The last visit we had with the Chairman of EFCC, he was very much interested.

“We are doing everything as a professional body to bring across the country agents, train them and asked them to belong to that association, so that if anything is done wrongly by them, they can be traced. As it is, you hardly can trace them.”