Over 1,000 Housing Ministry Officials Retired In Two Years, Says Minister
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has disclosed that over one thousand staff of the ministry retired in two years.
He admitted that the ministry is currently experiencing a significant human resource gap due to large-scale retirements.
He disclosed this on Thursday
when he received the chairman and members of the Board of Fellows of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
Dangiwa said that the Ministry is fully prepared to partner with the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors to develop and implement structured training and professional development programmes aimed at equipping surveyors, particularly young professionals.
According to the Minister, capacity building remains the most sustainable mechanism for institutional strengthening and professional excellence.
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“Capacity building is the only way to properly develop the young professionals coming on board and raise our standards and best practices. It is critical to promote professionalism in surveying and mapping and ensure sustainable development across the country,” he stated.
He emphasised that the Ministry houses a substantial number of surveyors in the country and provides government oversight to relevant professional bodies.
Dangiwa further noted that the core mandates of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development are inherently linked to surveying and geospatial services.
He stressed that effective land administration cannot be achieved without close collaboration with surveyors and other land professionals within the ministry.
He also highlighted that a branch of the Office of the Surveyor-General is domiciled within the Ministry under the Cadastral Department, further reinforcing the institutional linkage between both bodies.
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The minister described the existing relationship between the Ministry and the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors as strong and evolving, adding that the collaboration must be deepened to support ongoing reforms and infrastructure expansion initiatives in the housing sector.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Board of Fellows of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Surveyor Alabo Charlesye David Charles, stated that the visit was aimed at strengthening institutional cooperation and exploring strategic areas of mutual interest.
He listed the areas of collaboration to include; capacity building: development of tailored training and professional development programmes aligned with the Ministry’s operational needs, among others.
