Calabar - With only 4,000 estate surveyors in the country, quacks will continue to infiltrate their ranks, Chief Emeka Onuora, the President, Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, has said.

Onuora, who was speaking at news conference in Calabar, last weekend, identified “Estate Agents” as some of the quacks in the profession.

He, however, declared that his regime which began in April, would wage a war against quackery in the professions.

He said that measures were being taking to integrate some of the estate agents into the Institute.

“We will form an association of Estate Agents to enable us have control over that aspect of our profession because “it is one area where we, as professionals, do not have time for”.

He, however, explained that in forming the association, a minimum standard would be met by those who would be registered to practice.

“We have decided that the minimum educational qualification would be Secondary School Leaving Certificate,” he stressed.

Onuora admitted that the estate agents played a role in the society because they were doing what “we don’t have time to do and because we don’t want to push people out of their source of livelihood”.

He also expressed concern about the involvement of lawyers in property marketing and tenancy issues.

“When we are through with the formation of the estate agents association and registration of qualified persons, any other intruder will be taken as a quack and treated as such, ”Onuora said.

He said the Surveyors were in Calabar for the third of the four executive meetings they hold annually.