CHIEF Olusegun Bamgbade is the Chairman HOB Estate Limited, the developer of the popular HOB Estate located in Akure, Ondo State.
The estate, built in 2007, remains one of the estates commissioned under the Federal Government’s Public-Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement in housing.
At present, the developer of HOB Estate is not happy about the turns of event in the estate, alleging how the estate manager, who he had already sacked, teamed up with some residents in an attempt to allegedly upstage him of the properties.
The housing estate, comprising 119 units developed in the first phase, and over 200 units altogether were allocated to different occupiers, who, according to Bamgbade, were supposed to be National Housing Fund (NHF)’s subscribers.
However, the occupiers (with the exception of a few), Bamgbade said, were not prepared to process any mortgage arrangement.
Rather, he alleged that the occupiers preferred to be living rent-free in the buildings while his company continues to service debts accrued for the construction of the estate 17 years after.
“Imagine someone living in a house for 12, 14, 17 years rent free and calling himself landlord without having paid for the house where he lives.
“Even the estate security guards are being paid by myself and my company from the little rents accruable from my other properties in Lagos.
“As at June 2024, they are owing over N14 million on the estate security dues alone, yet I keep on paying for the security services on their behalf,” he said.
Bamgbade described the latest issue in the estate as “hydra-headed.”
“Firstly, the security company officially engaged by my company since January 2019 was chased away on the 1st of April, 2024 with thugs and dangerous weapons. I thought it was April Fool until the security company officially submitted an incident report on the matter in my office same day.
“We reported the matter to Zone 17, Akure.”
Before then, he alleged: “The estate manager teamed up with some recalcitrant occupiers of my estate to upstage me and change the management of the estate in order to cover series of atrocities.”
Bamgbade alleged that the sacked estate manager had assured the recalcitrant occupiers that he (Bamgbade) would never show up in Akure having convinced him long ago that Akure was a den of kidnappers, “that I should not venture to come over to Akure for whatever reason if I don’t wish to be kidnapped.”
“This is someone I trusted so much and I believed whatever he ever told me not knowing that it was a ploy to keep me away from my business premises for as long as necessary.
“Until the SSS assured me of my safety, I never touched the land of Akure since July 2017 when I attended the burial of the mother of my bosom friend .”
On the second day of the burial ceremony, he said the estate manager visited him at the hotel in Akure and staunchly advised him against visiting the estate “to keep me away from kidnappers, but I refused.”
“ I refused and rejected his advice because of the security measures I already put in place unknown to anyone including himself. So I visited the estate for the first time after four years. Can you believe that May 8th 2024 is also my 1st time of visiting the estate in Akure after seven years ie 2017 strictly because of the fake security alerts from the sacked estate manager.
“I have since been in Akure to oversee my business and there is no kidnapper anywhere. The sacked estate manager’s idea of kidnappers in Akure was phantom,” the developer of HOB Estate said.
He continued: “While going round on estate inspection on the 3rd of June, 2024, I discovered mind-boggling issues – over half of my estate has been taken over; fenced with blocks; some of my buildings in the estate inclusive. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the sacked estate manager and some residents were responsible for the criminal acts. I immediately reported the matter again at Zone 17, Akure.
Beyond prosecution, Bamgbade wants these residents to vacate the properties so he could make better use of them. They have been living in the estate rent-free for several years and pretending to be waiting for a PMI. If you want to own a property, it is your duty to secure your loan for property ownership, and not the responsibility of the property developers. Those of them who are genuinely interested in owning properties in the Estate have done the needful. Those crying fouls are the squatters masquerading as landlords and living rent-free in the Estate.
Meanwhile, in a recent Save-Our-Soul report, the residents had accused HOB Estate Management of eviction threats, demanding government’s intervention.
They lamented that the management of the HOB Estate has been threatening every member of the estate of converting their ownership of the units to rent or outright forceful eviction.
The house owners under the mortgage finance arrangement, they said are expected to embark on installment payment through a PMI to be given to them by HOB Nigeria Limited.
“In recent times, he has been threatening every member of the estate of converting our ownership of the units to rent or outright forceful eviction, “ the residents said.
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