Worried by the ongoing feuds between the ministry of Lands and Water Resources and the ministry of Works and Fire Service, over who has powers to pay compensation and other issues to property owners, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Akwa Ibom State has called for streamlining the functions of both ministries.
The estate valuers, while addressing the at the weekend, described the feud as unhealthy and unproductive, even as they blamed the ugly development and unhealthy rivalry to lack of clearly defined roles for some ministries and agencies (MDAs) by the outgoing Governor Udom Emmanuel.
The institution, therefore, called on the Akwa Ibom State government to streamline the functions of ministry of Lands/Water Resources and ministry of Works and Fire Service concerning acquisition of lands and payment of compensations, saying “the continuous usurpation of the roles by the works ministry is embarrassing and unhealthy.”
The chairman of NIESV, Akwa Ibom State branch, Obot Akpan, at a forum tagged; “Valuation: Key to Decision Making for Assets and Resources Optimization” highlighted the contributions of the body to national development and urged the state government to urgently address the problem before it degenerated beyond redemption in order not to pose another challenge to the incoming administration.
He said “land acquisition and payment of compensation has been the statutory functions of the ministry of Lands as enshrined in the Land Use Act, Cap 202, LFN, 1990, Sections 29(4)(b) and 29(4)(C), which makes the determination of value of compensation the exclusive reserve of the director of Lands in the ministry of Lands/Water Resources.”
Besides, Akpan pointed out with regrets that, despite these provisions by the law, compensation value for compulsory acquisition is allegedly domiciled with the ministry of Works in the state, adding that “the continued usurpation of those functions by the ministry of Works as currently going on will very likely embarrass the government and exact great cost if not checked”.
The chairman also noted that, this trend has led to incomplete documentation of historical data on lands transactions, warning that, ministerial functions need to be properly streamlined and adhered to by the state government.
The commissioner for lands and water resources, Capt Iniobong Ekong (rtd), expressed appreciation to the group, describing them as professionals and partners in the development of the state.
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