By Echeburu Oby,
A Federal High Court in Lagos state, has acknowledged the authorities of the State Government to normalize the practice of the real estate business in the State.
A report written by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), stated that a verdict sent out on 22nd of March, 2021, by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, deleted the initiating motion issued by Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) and the Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) to question the power of the State government to adjust the sector.
In his words, the claimants – ESVARBON and NIESV – had summited a case against the Lagos State Government and the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), that were numbered as first and second answerer correspondingly, they claimed to be the ‘sole body’ formed by Law in Nigeria to choose individuals that can become Estate Surveyors and Valuers.
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He stated that the first claimant asserted that by merit of Section 2 of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria Act Cap E13 LFN 2007 and Section 1 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, it was unlawful for the Lagos State Government to fashion a unit identified as the Lagos State Estate Agency Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) that forces registration of all Estate Surveyors and Valuers working in the State”.
“The applicants further claimed that under Section 4 (6) – (9) of the 1999 Constitution (rewritten) or any other Section or Schedule of the same Constitution, insisted that the Lagos State House of Assembly has no legislative power to pass a bill in regulating the practice of estate surveying and valuation”.
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Justice Aneke cancelled the inventing motion for absence of merit and supported the authorities of the Lagos State Government in establishing a regulatory agency for estate agent transactions in the State. Onigbanjo stated.
With this pronouncement, the Lagos State Government has called on all professionals to obey the Lagos State Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) Rules and register with the departments in line with the tenacity of the government in a bid to protect the people in general and make sure that reliable individuals and establishments get the needed podium to carry out trading activities.
