Residents warned against seeking individual solutions at govt estates

Lagos State Government has warned residents of its housing estates against seeking individual solutions in disregard to the rules and regulations contained in their allocation letters.

Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, the State’s Commissioner for housing, who gave this warning, stressed that the Ministry of housing would not accept situations where residents bypass and abandon existing infrastructure like water system, electricity and other shared services and choose to litter the estate with individual solutions which distorts the estate landscape.

The Commissioner gave this warning in the wake of an enforcement carried out at Lateef Kayode Jakande Estate at Igando, where some residents were reported to have perpetrated energy theft through bypassing of the installed electric connections in their apartments.

The Commissioner also frowned at residents who broke seals of apartments earlier sealed for various contraventions and further warned of dare consequences for such acts.

Though some of the residents made appeal for pardon, Akinderu-Fatai said the Ministry would not condone this act in any of the State Government estates again.

In recent times, the Ministry has been inundated with reported cases of energy theft, discarding of shared facilities and refusal to pay statutory estate dues and other contraventions.

These negative reports are disturbing acts of flouting rules and regulations in some State Government’s estates occupied by allotees who either purchased the houses outright or got the home allocations through the Rent-To-Own scheme.

The State Government has provided all facilities needed in Government-owned estates, the maintenance of such facilities are responsibilities of residents through the state government appointed facilities managers.

The residents were also reminded that every state government’s housing estate is designed to ensure ideal communal living and that residents representatives should be supported to ensure sustainability of the estate facilities.