To monitor activities in the forests and flood in the country, surveyors under the aegis of Association of Private Practicing Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), have asked the Federal Government to liberalise the use of drones for their members.

National chairman of APPSN, Dabiri Thomas, made the call during the 2022 yearly workshop and Luncheon of the Lagos State branch of the association, tagged: ‘Surveying Safely; Health and Wellbeing of a Surveyor’, in Lagos.

Thomas said, the current system, where surveyors have to go through the National Security Adviser (NSA) for approval is cumbersome, therefore, hindering the operations of practitioners.

He pleaded with government to liberalise use of drones for surveyors and put its control under Surveyors Registration Council Of Nigeria (SURCON), which is its regulatory body.

He said: “Because of insecurity, the government is trying to regulate the usage of drones. That is why it is highly restricted, but we are working on it because our profession has a lot of diversities in equipment. Gone are the days when people fly planes to do mapping, as at that time, there was nothing like Google maps, unlike now.”

On the launch of a new mobile app, he said it is being done to ensure that clients can access registered surveyors even with their phones to check quackery.

Also, Chairman of the Lagos chapter, Rafiu Adaranijo, said the app will check fake registration and numbers, only persons registered that can open his/her name on the app and view what is happening.

He also called on governments to co-opt surveyors in all development because surveying is at the bedrock of all development all over the world.

On a recent attempt by Lagos State Surveyor General to control private practitioners in the state, Rafiu said the move is unconstitutional.

“Under the law of the Federal Government, there is nothing of such, but it has been over 30 years, in 2019 to early 2020 some of us realised that we have to fight for it because the Federal Government law gives surveyors rights to practice anywhere in Nigeria.

“They are supposed to give you the job to do either by the Federal Government or private individuals but we realise that some people limit us and just pick some surveyors. The money they were collecting from private owners of land, is not remitted to the Federal Government account but paid to the individuals until the secret was exposed .”

The guest speaker, Dr. Okezie Kanu, advised surveyors on the need for regular check up to avoid death and limiting their abilities and

Kanu said the wellbeing of any professionals cannot be over emphasised, hence, the need for surveyors to ensure regular checks on their blood, brains, bladder and breasts for optmost service to the nation