Home owners protest against alleged exploitation by estate developer

Residents of Urban PrimeTwo Estate at Ogonbo Road, Abraham Adesanya, in Ajah, Lagos, have staged a peaceful protest against alleged exploitation and highhandedness by the management of Landwey Investment, the estate developer.

Supreme News reports that the residents came out en masse on Thursday around the environment to speak publicly against the action of the estate developer and seek justice.

Mr. Alfred Igoba, Vice Chairman, Resident Association of Urban PrimeTwo Estate, said that the developers had cut off water supply for the residents for almost one week.

Igoba said that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Landwey, Mr. Wale Ayilara, had requested the home owners pay N10,000 monthly, totaling N120,000 annually, before they could have access to water.

He stated that they were surprised at such a request  because they bought the water pump and were also paying for the electricity bill for the pumping of the water monthly.

According to him, they decided to negotiate with Landwey management since they claim that they own the borehole and accept N5,000 monthly for their facility, while the residents use the balance to get the water treated for consumption because it was very bad.

Igoba explained that they also offered an alternative to Landwey, that they would pay the N10,000 on the condition that they would get the water treated for consumption, but the CEO allegedly refused to accept either of the offers.

“To our surprise, the company came and cut off the water supply in the estate, which comprises about 420 units, leaving families, most especially women and children, to suffer for water.

“We went to Ogonbo Police Station to report the incident, and the DPO called him to appear for resolution, but he declined.

“On getting to the borehole facility now, we discovered that the developer has removed the water pump and disconnected the cables, so that we are unable to reconnect it,” he said.

According to him, the home owners have been patronising the services of water tank suppliers at a cost of N10,000 daily for each trip.

“This has become too unbearable and discomforting for any family living on the estate,” he said.

He said that the developer had not also provided electricity for the residents since October 2023 due to a damaged transformer.

He said the situation had forced the residents to resort to renting a transformer at N2 million monthly.

According to him, the action of Landwey management is against the agreement entered into at the purchase of the property.

Igoba said the agreement explicitly stated that the estate developer would provide not less than 22 hours electricity supply daily for the home owners through the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC).

He said the home owners were paying IKEDC for the monthly power consumption through the developer.

“As at that time, IKEDC was charging us N74 per kilowatt and Landwey was charging us N150 per kilowatt because if there is no electricity supply, they would power the estate with generator.

“On Oct. 3, 2023, our old transformer got burnt and three days later Landwey brought another transformer, which also burnt due to a damaged cable by a company operating around the vicinity.

On service management of the estate, Igoba stated that Landwey in October 2023 wrote the residents that it could no longer manage the estate through its service manager, named Wey Facility.

He appealed to the Lagos State Government through the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Agency (LASRERA) and the judiciary to wade into the matter and deliver the home owners from the developers.

Supreme News reports that home owners paid within the ranges of N55 million to purchase four bedrooms apartment in the estate, N38 million for three bedrooms and N27 million for two bedrooms apartment.

They also paid developmental levy of N1.5 million, electricity connections and other services, totalling about N5 million for facility in the estate at the point of purchase.

Reacting, An official of LandWey Investment Ltd., Ms Mabel Mayokun, in a statement made available to NAN, explained why the estate residents’ water was disconnected.

Mayokun stated that the disconnection was due to the inability of the Residents Association Executives to settle utility bills.

She expressed worry that the dispute between the two parties threatened the harmony and operational efficiency of the community, adding that the estate’s residents had gotten increasingly concerned of the development.

“LandWey Investment Ltd., known for its significant contributions to the community and the development of UrbanPrime2 Estate, is dismayed over the actions of the executives.

“Our commitment has always been to the well-being of the residents and the prosperity of UrbanPrime2.

” It is regrettable that such tactics are being employed,” Mayokun said.