Business
Don Tasks Surveyors On Recession
Nigerian surveyors
have been challenged to undertake aggressive research into use of indgeneous technology for survey jobs while eliminating quacks in their ranks through proper registration and monitoring to reduce costs and wastages and help pull Nigeria’s economy out of recession.
The charge is part of a template for getting the nation’s economy out of the woods given by Prof. Ijeoma Kalu in a lecture titled “The Role of Surveyors In A Recessed Economy”, delivered at the end of year Dinner of the Rivers State branch of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) in Port Harcourt last week.
Prof. Kalu said surveyors have a duty to support local sourcing of materials, proper enlightenment of the citizenry on need to employ services of surveyors and the provision of appropriate maps for warfare and for combating crime.
The Guest Lecturer charged surveyors to also reduce fees charged in order to encourage more people to do proper survey and registration of their land while urging them to eliminate corruption and maintain discipline within their profession.
Kalu recommended adequate practical training of surveyors to complement academic qualification, support for land reform policies that ensure secure, safe, affordable and guaranteed access to land for the poor and called on surveyors to perform their duties professionally and within the ethics of the profession to reduce conflicts among clients.
The lecturer explained that a recession occurs when the economy experiences two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
According to him, the National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in a real Gross Domestic Product, real income, employment, industrial production and wholesale-retail sales”.
The present recession in Nigeria, Kalu said, is caused by high inflation, interest and multiple taxation rates as well as decline in international oil prices, slow growth of non-oil exports and insecurity.
He also said policy conflict and inconsistencies, government body language, like Buhari saying Nigeria is populated by criminals, ostentatious consumption of the rich and penchant for foreign goods are also contributory factors.
Kalu, a Professor of Economics (Development Studies) at the University of Port Harcourt said surveyors have an important role to play in Nigeria’s recessed economy and enjoined them to use their tools, knowledge and professional responsibility to impact positively not only on their clients but also on the Nigerian current environment.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Rivers State, Surv. Joseph Wobo Amadi called on the federal, state, local governments and private sector players to engage the services of qualified surveyors for all their projects to achieve meaningful and sustainable development.
The chairman said Nigeria is now at a point “where all mathematical permutations, combinations, adjustment computations, numerical and error analysis have all collapsed as a pack of cards”. He said there is now a pervasive feeling of despair but assured that the surveying profession has an answer.
According to Amadi, surveying deals with precise measurements on the earth surface, water and in space as well as precise determination of the size, shape and gravity of fields of the earth.
The products of these measurements, he said, include geospatial data, plans, maps, charts, gravity fields and their applications in socio-economic and infrastructural development, which according to him, is widely acclaimed all over the world.
Amadi said the impact of surveying is huge on the economy of the world, asserting that the most developed nations of the world are the best mapped.
“Indeed, surveying and mapping are the bedrock of all meaningful and sustainable development”, the NIS chairman said.
Surveying and mapping are also essential for effective management and administration of land resources, just as they are to safety and security in their contributions to economic growth of nations, Amadi said.
According to him, every movement is tied to a location which could be traced by which security challenges could be resolved through surveying.
The Rivers NIS chairman said the end of year dinner party was organised for the relaxation of surveyors’ families, sister professionals, government officials, safety and security agents, friends and well wishers as “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy and all play and no work make Jack a lazy boy”.
Giving account of the stewardship of his executive, Amadi said they have returned peace and unity to the state branch of NIS while making transparency and accountability their watch word.
Other achievements, he enumerated, included publication of rich scientific journals (The Pathfinder) and acquisition of land for Surveyors Estate at Omagwa.
He said the Institution has embarked on the completion of the State NIS Secretariat as well as good welfare package for members and Surveyors Wives Association of Nigeria (SWAN). The Institution in the state, under his watch has also embarked on massive manpower development which included upgrading of different survey cadres and registration by the Surveyors Registration Council of Nigeria (SURCON), Amadi said.
He said the branch successfully fought and won national elections-, Publicity Secretary and Deputy President who is now President-In-Waiting.
In his speech, the Deputy National President of NIS, Surv (Alabo) C.D. Charles who represented the National President of the institution Surv Akinloye Olufemi Oyegbola, said the President was still on his nation-wide tour of the state branches of the institution.
Charles, who is President-In-Waiting, stressed the need for peace to move NIS forward, pointing out that he had contested national elections of the institution two or more times during which the state branch was in turmoil and he lost.
He said that as peace returned to the Rivers State branch, he contested the position of National Deputy President at the Oshogbo Annual General Meeting and won.
The Deputy President promised that whatever issues that remained unresolved by the current president when he leaves office would be resolved during his presidency.
At the well-attended party which took place at The Arena Event Centre in Port Harcourt, NIS, Rivers State branch honoured some heads of security outfits, among other dignitaries, for their contributions to peace and security in the state.
Amadi said the gesture was not only to appreciate their contributions but to promote greater synergy and collaboration between the organisations and Rivers NIS.
Among those honoured with plaques were the Commander, 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Commandant, Nigerian Navy Hydrographic School, and the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State who were all represented at the event.
Also honoured with plaques were Emeritus Professor of Surveying and Geodesy, Prof (Alabo) D.M.J Fubara who was represented by his wife Dr Fubara, Deputy National President of NIS Surv (Alabo) C.D. Charles, Past President, Surv L K Asika, Permanent Secretary/Surveyor-General, Rivers State, Surv Noel Elenwo, Surv Igntius O. Ike, Surv L.W. Chukwu who is a former Rivers State NIS Chairman and Guest Lecturer, Prof Ijeoma E. Kalu.
The event also featured cultural dances short speeches by Surveyor-General of Rivers State, Surv Noel Elenwo and Surv L.K. Asika among others and the cutting of the “cake of Thanksgiving to God”.
Prof. John Sika Orupabo of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology and media executives were among dignitaries that graced the event.
Donald Mike-Jaja
Two universities in the Niger Delta zone (University of Port Harcourt and University of Benin) have emerged winners of the South-South region in the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO) competition.
The NEO competition which took place at the Nigerian Content Tower(NCT), headquarters of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board(NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State is a nationwide engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship competition launched in 2025 by a non-profit organization, ‘Enactus Nigeria’, in partnership with NCDMB, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
The two Universities teams represented differently by ‘Inovation team PROTRONICS’ and ‘Innovation team VHORDE’, won their counterparts from the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun, Delta State, and the University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, in the competition showcasing hardware and software prototypes developed to serve as innovative solutions to real-world challenges with specific reference to Nigeria and Africa.
From UNIPORT’s ‘team PROTRONICS’ was an innovation called ‘KEYTRIC’ which the competitors presented as a ‘SMART POWER CONTROL’ that makes electricity usage effortless and automating with the use of an intelligent locking systems.
Team PROTRONICS highlighted high electricity bills, electricity fire risk and expensive smart home and gaps in existing solutions, including costly installation, lack of integration between security and energy, and dependence on the Internet as the reason for their innovative invention.
“Our innovative solution is a smart energy door lock that switches off a user’s electricity supply when they lock to leave the house.
“Our solution saves money on electricity bill, reduces the risk of electric fire accident, and is affordable to everyone”, the Uniport’s team said.
On the other hand, Team VHORDE of the University of Benin presented what it terms Intelligent Real-time Interface(IRIS) which enables visually impaired individuals to gain sight.
They pointed out that there are 4.5 million visually impaired Nigerians who are in some way incapacitated and unable to live life to the fullest.
The students displayed an IRIS pack, consisting sensors, wearable glasses, microphone, camera and Haptic feedback.
On how the IRIS works, the UNIBEN students said the smart glasses, which consist, a camera, depth sensor, and edge Artificial Intelligence(AI) processor, enables a visually impaired person to see and understand the world in real time.
“There’s an AI Compute Unit to be worn at the waist, which runs Convolutional neutral network (CNN) object detection, face recognition, and voice processing on-device”, the team said.
In a section on Business Model and Revenue Streams, the University of Benin competitors indicated production-scale pricing for IRIS Standard as N699,000 one-time purchase.
According to the team, the IRIS standard has the following functions, real-time object and scene identification, familiar face recognition, obstacle and hazard detection (haptic wristbands), natural voice interaction, Edge AI – fully offline core functions, and OTA software updates via Wi-Fi.
In an assessment of the prototypes and demonstrations made, one of the key judges of the competition, Engr. Dokubo Obongo, Manager, Institutional Strengthening, at the NCDMB, described all the presentations as “top-notch”.
He noted that there are solutions that are viable marketwise, relevant to the society and the challenges humans face, explaining that the Engineering Olympiad is a competition targeted at developing home-grown solutions from research and development from Nigerian universities.
“The idea is to see how we can proffer solutions to our own problems which means creating business opportunities”, he said.
Speaking for Enactus Nigeria, the group’s Country Director, Mr. Michael Ajayi, said the two top finalists from the six geopolitical zones would move to a boot camp for further preparation towards the main national championship, and that the best three teams would share N100 million.
He also disclosed that each of the 30 teams that displayed prototype technology in the regional competition would receive N3 million.
Team PROTRONICS of the University of Port Harcourt had as Team Lead Dr. Victor Jinn (Faculty Adviser), while the contestants were Chukwuma Sunday-Odu, Fubara David Otokini, and Ekemini Godwin Akpan, while Team VHORDE of the University of Benin had Anoint Oritsetimeyin Igorki, Oghosa Derick Osarobo, Uti Henry Eworitsewarami, Jada O. Godfrey-Ariavie, Richard O.Enegbuna, Momodu O. Olayemi, and Asemota G. Ayevbosa.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has officially unveiled the Simplified Customs Advanced Declaration System (SCADS) at the international wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The move is aimed at improving passenger clearance, compliance and customs operations.
This was contained in a statement by the NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, and made available to Newsmen in Abuja.
Maiwada explained that the platform, designed to simplify baggage declaration for inbound international passengers, aims to reduce manual bottlenecks, improve transparency in revenue assessment and enhance operational efficiency at Nigeria’s international airports.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of ICT/Modernisation, Oluyomi Adebakin, said the deployment of SCADS marked another major step in the service’s digital transformation agenda.
Adebakin said the initiative became necessary to address operational challenges encountered on the service’s previous passenger declaration platform earlier this year.
She explained that rather than allowing the setbacks to slow operations, the service chose to develop a stronger and more efficient alternative.
“When the earlier platform experienced operational challenges, we chose not to see it as a setback.
“We saw it as an opportunity to build something better, stronger and more efficient,” she said.
According to her, the newly introduced SCADS platform allows passengers to declare items before arrival, thereby reducing clearance time while improving compliance and operational integrity.
“For passengers, this system creates the opportunity for advance declaration before arrival. It means faster clearance, easier compliance and smoother movement through our airports,” she added.
Adebakin said that the system would eliminate subjective revenue assessment by ensuring that duties were being automatically generated based on declared items, their quantities and actual values.
“When we talk about revenue collection, it is not about collecting more or less. It is about collecting the right revenue. With this system, assessment will now be more objective, accurate and driven by data,” she said.
Earlier Comptroller Customs Area Controller, FCT Area Command, Victoria Alibo,described the selection of the command for the pilot phase as a vote of confidence in its operational capacity.
Alibo said the new platform integrates passenger baggage and e-commerce declarations into a single digital framework designed to support global Customs best practices.
“SCADS is designed to simplify declarations, reduce clearance time, eliminate manual bottlenecks and align our operations with international standards,” Alibo said.
She said that the pilot phase would run for five days, from May 18 to May 22, during which officers would evaluate the system in a live environment ahead of nationwide deployment.
The event was attended by senior Customs officers, officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, partner government agencies, technical teams, and other key stakeholders in Nigeria’s aviation and border management ecosystem.
By: CHINEDU WOSU
Olubiyo, said this in an interview with Newsmen to Monday in Abuja.
He said energy theft occurs at both the consumer and institutional levels across the electricity value chain from generation to transmission and distribution.
According to Olubiyo, at the consumer level electricity theft includes metre bypass, illegal connections and unauthorised access to power without proper billing.
According to him, some customers would dig underground cables directly to their homes or businesses without being metered, while others exploit estimated billing systems to consume electricity without payment.
“Whether through metre bypass or illegal connection, many customers are using electricity for free. That is energy theft,” he said.
He also alleged that institutional energy theft exists within the power sector, particularly through defective, obsolete, or wrongly installed metres used in monitoring electricity generation and distribution.
He said that wholesale metres installed at critical interfaces among generation companies (GenCos), transmission companies, and distribution companies (DisCos) were often out-dated or improperly configured.
He said those could lead to inaccurate readings and inflated subsidy claims.
“If 4,000 megawatts is generated and 7,000 megawatts is recorded, that is energy theft because the excess energy does not get to consumers,” he stated.
The expert further said some operators in the sector allegedly exploit maintenance and repair contracts through inflated contract sums and possible collaboration with vandals.
He also cited the deployment of secure pole-mounted metres in military barracks as an example of how technology can curb metre tampering and unauthorised access.
He, therefore said the sector had to urgently address infrastructure decay, weak regulation, poor investment, and corruption within the value chain.
Otherwise, according to him, Nigeria’s electricity industry will continue to face liquidity challenges, revenue losses and unstable power supply.
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