Estate surveyors urge verification to curb property fraud

The President and Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Bature Muhammad, has urged Nigerians to verify the credentials of property managers before engaging their services to avoid falling victim to quack practitioners.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday to mark the 2026 International Valuation Day, the President and Chairman of Council, Muhammad, stressed the importance of due diligence, noting that members of the public must confirm whether individuals presenting themselves as professionals are duly registered.

He said, “When somebody approaches you, give me your property to manage, you should be able to inquire: Is this man a professional? Part of our law is that your company name should include your surname. And we have an emblem. We have a logo.”

Muhammad added that the presence of official insignia is a key indicator of professionalism in the sector. “Anybody dealing in rental activities that does not have either of these two logos in his office, his complimentary card, or his letterhead is not a professional,” he said.

He further explained that the institution collaborates with government agencies to tackle the menace of quackery in the profession. “Then, we work hand in hand with regulatory agencies, government, and even the EFCC. Because we have had to face serious issues from quacks, whom the government thinks are our members. So, we work hand in hand with them to see how we can,” he stated.

While acknowledging that quackery is a widespread challenge across professions, Muhammad noted that efforts are ongoing to curb the trend. “Quackery, you cannot eradicate it completely. It’s a basic fact. And it cuts across every profession. So, the institution is doing its best on that,” he said.

He encouraged members of the public to take advantage of available verification channels before engaging practitioners. “I would like to say that the general public is free to verify who they are dealing with by making inquiries at the NIESV office. We have a website you can find out from, as well as from our regulators,” he added.

Muhammad also highlighted the role of the public in enabling quackery, particularly through attempts to avoid professional fees. “Quackery is a battle that all professional bodies are fighting. And we need the general public to help us. And why we say we need them to help us is because many times they need to escape payment of fees.

“For proper professional services, they fall into the hands of persons who hold themselves out as professionals in the name of undercutting fees or subverting or trying to evade proper professional fees,” he said.

He warned that such decisions often lead to poor service delivery and financial losses. “And many times they get themselves caught, and they keep running back. We must also let ourselves know that quacks, by the way they operate, are after quick money. And many times they don’t even have the required skills to deliver,” he added.

The NIESV president advised victims of unprofessional services to report such individuals to the relevant authorities. “And so when someone does a service that they are not satisfied with, one way is to demand the person’s ID card or the person’s office, or even try to report the person to the police or to any professional body he claims to belong to. And because of that reporting, you find out whether that person is actually registered or is not registered,” he said.

He added, “Valuation is crucial for Nigeria’s economic transformation, crucial to creating, unlocking and achieving both an over N500 trillion budget and N500 trillion in economic value through various sectors, such as oil and gas reform, tax reform and strategic development of critical minerals.”

Muhammad noted that International Valuation Day, marked annually on May 5, is aimed at promoting awareness of the importance of valuation and its role in economic development.

According to him, “And it may interest you to know that once you get valuation wrong, so many other things will automatically go wrong, and that should be a major concern to all stakeholders in the process. So valuation must be real, accurate, and credible.”

The NIESV president also linked valuation to the success of ongoing tax reforms, describing estate surveyors and valuers as critical partners in the process. He said, “I would be right to say then that valuation is key to the success of the tax reforms.”

Muhammad further emphasised that only certified estate surveyors and valuers are legally empowered to undertake valuation assignments in Nigeria, warning against engaging unqualified practitioners.

He said, “It is therefore absolutely wrong and illegal to give valuation jobs to non-estate surveying and valuation firms. It is against the law of the land because valuation is a service that the law of this country exclusively gives to estate surveyors and valuers.

“And if you give valuation to a non-estate surveyor and valuer, the regulatory body and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers will tackle the absurdity appropriately anyway.”