By Dele Ogbodo
Following the positive transmission in the handover of the supervisory authority of the two agencies under the Ministry of Works: the Federal Road Management Agency (FERMA) and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF) by the Minister Engr. David Umahi, to his State counterpart, Barr. Muhammad Bello Goronyo, the Minister of State has pledged the Federal Government’s unalloyed support to the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, (OSGoF), in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda (RHA) of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Minister made this commitment on Wednesday, while on a familiarisation tour of the agency, re-stating that the visit is crucial as it affords him the opportunity to have a first-hand knowledge of happenings within the OSGoF, in relation with its critical role in advancing the economic and social development of our dear nation.
“You cannot achieve your desired goal without having accurate data. This is one Office that has been working for over 100 years. And because of the advancement in technology, a lot of equipment have become obsolete,” he said. As such, he disclosed that there is an increased need to bring them up to speed with the modern times because many MDAs rely on the OSGoF to perform optimally, as it is key to national development.
The Director, Press and Public Relations, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed, quoted the Minister as commending the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation that has been doing very greatly despite the challenges of funding occasioned by meagre resource allocation from the national budget, promising to explore possibilities of assisting the agency to be able to carry out its core mandates, as well as addressing Staff welfare matters.
He also pledged to look into the issue of provision of additional Active Control Points (COPS) to aid the Office in the performance of its duties.
The Minister concluded the working visit by stating that “I am glad that I am here, and I thank the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation for the warm reception, and we will continue to engage and collaborate so as to have a very fruitful engagement.”
Earlier, the Surveyor General of the Federation, Surv. Abdulganiyu Adebomehin, thanked the Minister for paying the visit to the Office as it offers them a unique opportunity to bring the him up to speed with their mandates, modest achievements, challenges, as well as prospects.
The Surveyor General informed that the OSGoF is one of the oldest offices you can think of and about, also recognised by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He further noted that the Office has a lot to offer to the country, as well as the outside world. “The duties of the Office transcends popular cadastral work, four-corner job. There are now modern equipment used to monitor aircraft take-off and landing,” he further buttressed.
Reflecting on the achievements of the Office, he briefed the Minister that, amongst other things, the Office provides the Government and the general public with relevant map products and alternatives through user requirement analysis, capacity building to establish best practices in geo-spatial data management by collaborating with Development Partners, making appropriate policies that will be in consonance with the changing roles of surveying and mapping, creating amd maintaining a National Repository of Meta- data for all trigonometrical, cadastral, topographical, hydrographic and geodetic data in the Federation, creating and maintaining Survey Units in relevant Federal MDAs and supporting MDAs in the areas of mapping and geo- spatial information.
Adebomehin, also noted that the Office is be-devilled with inadequate budgetary allocations and untimely releases, which negatively affects performance, inadequate office accommodation, aging staff strength, inadequate field vehicles, inadequate Active Control Points (COPS), among other challenges confronting the establishment.
The Surveyor General further stated that the use of data for national development cannot be overstated. “There’s a need for us to bring all these data together, collaborate as one entity and use it for decision making,” he opined.
Afterwards, the Surveyor General conducted his guest round facilities in the Office, while also revealing that the FCDA has graciously permitted OSGoF to use the landed property behind it to construct more office space.
He further stated that some of the equipment at the Center for Control and Analysis are new but are not adequate.
While responding to questions from the media, Goronyo expressed his appreciation for the good work being done at the agency, maintaining that data collection, collation and dissemination are critical to national development as no nation achieves growth without adequate mobilisation of data for mapping, food security, curbing insecurity and more.
