Private practising surveyors storm Port Harcourt

Simipiriye Eliot Kalio, APPSN national chairman

For most of this week, Port Harcourt is brimming with Surveyors as they storm the city for the annual general conference and retreat of APPSN.

Surveyors were practically one of the oldest professionals anywhere in the world, including Nigeria. Soon, they broke into public and private practising groups, thus, the birth of the group now known and termed Association Private Practising Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), a big part of the Nigeria Institution of Surveyors (NIS).

They produced some of the early elites that challenged colonial rule and the seemingly racist ways of the colonial masters in the public service, from where nationalism and push for Independence exploded.

Their association in Nigeria began at about 1934 as the “Licensed Surveyors Association” under Macaulay.

Now, according to Lawson Nwidum, the publicity secretary, APPSN would gather under the theme: ‘Mapping the Future: The Vital Role of Surveyors in Nigeria Oil & Gas Industry!”

The three-day annual gathering would begin on Tuesday, February, 10, 2026, at the Golden Tulip Hotel (L.A. Kings), Ken Saro Wiwa Road, Port Harcourt, under the chairmanship of a fellow, Simepreye Elliot Godwin Kalio, national chairman. The main event will be at the Obi Wali Cultural Centre on Thursday.

It is both a conference and retreat which would feature visits to Gov Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, the royal father of the week, Chike Worlu Wodo, who is the also the chairman, Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, and to Peter Ogolo, the Surveyor-General of Rivers State.

There is always a communique which may acknowledge the advances made by Rivers State in the sector and set the pace for the future of Surveying in Nigeria. A communique is expected.

Previous reports said Surveyors are vital for securing oil assets by identifying theft points, assessing environmental damage from oil spills, and facilitating compensation, valuation, and urban planning.

Their key roles in the region are listed as oil and gas security, and monitoring. They are involved in environmental remediation and valuation. Infrastructure and urban development are key jobs they do. They ensure land ownership documentation, and resolve boundary disputes in both rural and urban areas.

When they meet in PH for one week, the nation would know that one of the earliest professionals have touched the city.

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