OSGoF Advises States On Establishment Of Surveying Department In All LGAs

Following the recommendation of the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGoF) requesting for the establishment of a Surveying department in all the local government areas as part of institutional strengthening, the National Council on Works has urged state governments through their respective Heads of State Civil Service to approve the establishment of the said department.

The council noted that the proposed LGA surveying departments should be headed by qualified surveyors and are crucial for planning and managing infrastructure projects.

This was contained in the outcome of 29th meeting of the Council held between 15th – 19th July 2024 in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

The theme for this year’s National Council on Works meeting was “Unlocking Infrastructural Potentials and Opportunities as a Catalyst for Sustainable Development under the Renewed Hope Agenda”

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According to the meeting communique, the council also approved the request to connect all the infrastructural development activities in the country with the Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS) network established by the OSGoF and private entities in line with OSGoF guidelines for quality control, quality assurance, and to ensure uniformity of surveying activities across the country.

The Council further accepted the demand of the Surveyor General’s Office for the migration of all surveying activities within the country to the National Geocentric Datum (NGD) realized by the OSGoF, also for quality control, quality assurance, and uniformity of surveying data nationally.

The council equally called for the support to Geographical Information System (GIS) Units in all offices of Surveyor General at Federal and States levels through adequate funding and training

Also, the Council advised the Offices of the State Surveyor Generals that are yet to upgrade to extra-ministerial departments to seek the advice of the OSGoF while those states that have already upgraded were also advised to fast-track the upgrade to substantive extra-ministerial departments.

The National Council on Works meeting is aimed at assembling all the relevant stakeholders in the Roads sector from all the thirty-six (36) states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory to deliberate on and adopt policy measures towards addressing key challenges of the sector for accelerated roads and bridges infrastructure development, thereby promoting job creation, social inclusion and economic development.