How to Choose an Architect in Nigeria: What to Check Before You Pay

A good architect saves you money on every stage that follows. A bad one costs you at the design desk, at the approval office, and again on site. The difference is visible before you pay, if you know what to check.

Check 1: Registration and Standing

In Nigeria, architects register with ARCON (Architects Registration Council of Nigeria) and typically belong to the NIA (Nigerian Institute of Architects). Registration is not paperwork. It is the legal authority to practise and the professional liability that comes with it.

Ask for the registration number and verify it. “Architect” is a protected title in Nigeria, and the title is exactly as strong as the registration behind it.

Check 2: Relevant Experience

A church architect and a hospital architect are both architects, and neither is automatically right for your house. Ask:

• How many projects like yours have you completed?
• Can I see drawings and photos, and visit one project?
• Have you handled approval in the state where I am building?

Approval experience matters more than people think. An architect who knows the state’s planning requirements produces files that pass the first time.

Check 3: The Design Process

Ask how the architect works before asking the price:

• How many design revisions are included?
• Who attends site visits, the architect or an assistant?
• How do you communicate with clients, including clients abroad?

The answers tell you whether you are buying a drawing or a professional relationship. You need the second.

Check 4: The Fee Structure

Nigerian architects typically charge a percentage of construction cost (commonly 4 to 6%) or a fixed design fee. Ask:

• What exactly does the fee cover: concept, working drawings, approval drawings, site supervision?
• What costs extra: revisions, site visits, extra services?
• Is there a written scope and fee agreement?

A verbal fee agreement is a construction project on its own.

Check 5: The Deliverables

The design set should include:

• Floor plans, elevations and sections
• A site plan showing the building on the plot
• Approval-ready drawing set for the planning authority
• Coordination with structural and MEP engineers

If “design” means one sketch and a promise, you are paying a draftsman’s price with an architect’s expectations.

The Contract Clause That Matters Most

Make sure the agreement includes supervision or a defined handover to whoever supervises. A design that is never checked on site is a design that gets reinterpreted by the contractor. The architect, the engineer or an independent project manager must watch the build. Decide who, and put it in the contract.

Choose Your Architect With Evidence

VETONGROUP’s architectural team is ARCON-registered, with approval experience in Edo State and design delivery nationwide. We provide the full set: concept, working drawings, approval support, and supervision through construction, with a client portal for remote clients.

Book a free design consultation. Response within 24 business hours.