Disquiet as Ogun fails to allocate property to applicants after two years

• Market value moves up from N5.5m to N20m – Govt

There is disquiet over lack of allocation of houses to the applicants, more than two years after payment in the Ogun State Housing Scheme, Daily Trust reports.

About 200 applicants are caught up in this non-allocation of property two years after payments were made.

Our correspondent gathered that the individuals after payment were expecting allocation of their homes in the Prince Court Estate, located along Kobape in Abeokuta. 

The applicants had each paid N5,500,000 into the coffers of the state government with the promise of receiving a house in the estate, it was gathered.

But, they have yet to be allocated any property, more than two years after payment.

The applicants, represented by Adeyemi Aremu, have cried out over the delay, and have accused Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration of failing to deliver on its promises.

Aremu, speaking in Abeokuta, explained that the housing scheme was managed by the Ogun State Ministry of Housing.

He presented various receipts to support his claims, revealing that over 200 qualified applicants had been approved and listed, but no allocations had been made.

Aremu further lamented that the Gateway Mortgage Bank had not protected its clients or ensured they received their homes, even as many continued to pay mortgage instalments with interest.

“The Gateway Mortgage Bank should have secured our homes upon making an agreement,” Aremu stated.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Housing, Jagunmolu Jamiu Omoniyi, confirmed non-allocation of property to the applicants, saying the market value of the property has astronomically gone up as high as N20m as against the N5.5m paid by the applicants.

He noted that the government had immediately activated stakeholders’ meetings to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

“The truth of the matter is that the delay in the process of allocation to applicants was caused by the sudden need for variations in the cost of the property as a result of galloping inflation as witnessed in the last year, as the cost value of the houses have gone up as against the N5.5m initially paid by the applicants, with such houses commanding up to N20m in open market.

“Consequently, the Government plans to engage all the applicants through various stakeholders’ meetings, as there will be an adjustment in the price of the property.

“To this end, those who are willing and able to meet up with the little adjustment will immediately get their allocations attended to and delivery structured within record time at the conclusion of the stakeholders’ meetings while those who cannot afford the adjustment will be free to request for instant refund of their deposits plus CBN’s prescribed interest rate,” he said.