Imo Stakeholders Accuse Surveyor-General Of High-handedness

Members of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) and the Association of Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), Imo State branch, have lamented the high-handedness of the state’s surveyor-general, Robert Odidika.

They accused him of attempting to run them out of business.

The association in an open letter to Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, dated 14th April, 2026. complained that for over two years, the practice of private surveyors had been put on hold in the state due to incursions by the surveyor-general.

The Surveyors who commended Uzodimma for modernising surveying and geoinformatics in Imo State said their appeals were to protect the land administration system from procedural decay.

They called for an independent and transparent review of the operations within the Office of the Surveyor-General, who they said had withdrawn issuance of SURCON beacon numbers.

Further, they called for dialogue with the leadership of the LeadershipIS, Imo State Branch, to foster constructive dialogue and resolve the systemic issues.

The private Surveyors said the anomalies include violation of statutory authority, illegal obstruction to practice, professional suppression, and administrative malpractice.

They alleged that he has introduced a certain corrupt “priv” te issuance” sys” em, where, instead of statutory corporate payments, “surv”yors who exhaust their quarterly limits are coerced into paying private fees to Mr Kelechi Ekeonugha to “borr”w” num”e rs. This undermines the market, encouraging undercut fees and substandard services.

“Orch” started judicial harassment. In a blatant act of victimisation, the Surveyor General and his associate, Mr Kelechi Ekeonugha, instigated trumped-up forgery charges against our immediate past NIS Imo Chairman, Surv. Paschal Nze, FNIS. This resulted in SurvNze’s day detention in February 22025 being retribution for his leadership tendencies.

“He h”s falsely claimed to state officials that surveyors are refusing to pay deposition fees. We state categorically that we are ready to pay all lawful fees once the Ministry of Lands, Survey, and Urban Planning opens collection. This is a deliberate attempt to pit Your Excellency’s administration against our law-abiding members.

“He has introduced a corrupt “private” te issuance system. Instead of statutory corporate payments, surveyors who exhaust their quarterly limits are coerced into paying private fees to Mr Kelechi Ekeonugha to “borr”w” num” ers. This undermines the market, encouraging undercut fees and substandard services.

“Unau”horised use of ‘3R’ ‘ra’ding: He has produced a ‘ cus’mised survey paper’ bea’ing the Imo State Government ‘sogo. This creates legal liability for the government, as it falsely implies state endorsement of private surveys. This is as inappropriate as a private lawyer using government letterhead for personal briefs, th” the Surveyors said.

The Surveyors alleged that the State Surveyor General was using the GoverGovernor’s fraudulently, including by appending Uzodimma to his name and writing his name as “Surv”” Odi”ika Robert Uzodimma, saying it creates a false impression of a direct familial mandate that bypasses professional protocols.

According to them, the office of the Imo Surveyor General had unilaterally bypassed statutory processes to deny practitioners the tools of their trade, effectively deregistering surveyors without due process.

Further, the private Surveyors said that the Surveyor General’s office had become an avenue for exploitation and professional discouragement, to undermine the very digital and infrastructural progress Governor Uzodimma worked hard to build.

Meanwhile, they said the State Surveyor General had refused to attend the national mediation organised by the national LEADERSHIP. He agreed to receive them when they visited the state to interface with him.