The Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation has promised to utilize a Geographical Information System expert for the Border Communities Development Agency to enhance its GIS unit.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Head of Press and Public Relations, Sani Datti, during a courtesy visit by the Executive Secretary of Border Communities Development Agency, Dr. Dakorinama George to the agency headquarters in Abuja, according to The Punch.
He reassured the agency of his support and partnership in the areas of mapping, identification, and information as regards border communities across the country.
He stated, “If it pleases you, we will be ready to draft one of the best hands to be with you and be in charge of your GIS, as it would not be meaningful if you don’t have someone who understands the transformation and coordinate systems.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Border Communities Development Agency, Dr Dakorinama George, seeks collaboration with the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation to fill in the gaps and with the vision to reposition the agency to enable the fulfillment of the mandate for which it was set up.
He said, “We have borders spread along 105 local governments in about 21 states, across all the geographical zones, access to some of these communities is difficult.
“So, you begin to wonder how they survive, which is one of the reasons we need the support and collaboration of the Surveyor General’s Office so that we can properly locate and reach out to them and get to know their needs.
“We need every piece of information you can give us regarding our border communities because you have been in touch with them. You have a lot of border data, and we want to depend on your field data. We want to tell you that we want to reestablish the collaboration and the existing synergy between your office and our agency.”
He underlined that, given the need for a dedicated desk for liaison between the Agency and the Federation’s Office of the Surveyor General, he had recently requested the Presidency’s approval for the establishment of a GIS unit within the Agency.
