The Surveyor General of the Federation (SGOF), Abudulganiyu Adebomehin, has canvassed for the creation of an enforcement unit in his office to tackle encroachment of flood areas, especially during housing development in Nigeria.
He spoke on Wednesday while featuring on TVC News’ breakfast television programme with the topic “Mapping a Brighter Future: Enhancing Nigeria’s Development Through Accurate Mapping”.
He decried the persistent disregard for official warnings about building on floodplains and lamented the absence of legislative authority to prevent such activities.
He said, “The floodplains are where some people like to go and build their houses, despite warnings. But we don’t have that enforcement unit. Now, talking about the enforcement unit, we need a lot of amendments. Is there an act or whatever by the National Assembly for them to see the reason why we should be part of international best practice? Are you independent of the normal government operations?
“The reason is you said you give a warning; this is the floodplain, and people go to build. Do you have the capacity to come up with a notice and say no? What the government wants to do in this area negates environmental details. Do you have the capacity to stop people? And if not, why? What is the international best practice?
“We have what we call forest maps, and when you talk about security, apart from the fact that we don’t carry guns, we don’t carry ammunition. Anyone who fails to list or abide by those maps we produce will be subject to the Office’s Protection. That’s what we call it.”
He said OSGOF has the relevant information and data on where the flood plains are in Nigeria; however, when people encroach, there is no special power given to the office to enforce compliance unless there is an act of parliament through enforcement that could make his office stop encroachment of flood plains in the country.
Adebomehin also noted that OSGOF possesses accurate data and maps that identify flood-prone regions across the country. However, the absence of legislative support limits its capacity to enforce compliance.
“We have forest maps, environmental maps, and critical security-related geospatial data. But unlike security agencies, we do not carry arms or have legal backing to enforce map-based decisions. Anyone who ignores these maps effectively undermines national safety and planning,” he added.
Adebomehin lamented the lack of consistent collaboration between OSGOF and some security agencies, stating that while some agencies recognise the Office’s role and consult accordingly, others overlook its relevance entirely.
“OSGOF is the only agency that truly understands and defines Nigeria’s geographic realities. Our data is sovereign and scientifically grounded. Yet, not all security stakeholders engage us before taking action in the field,” he said.
