Lagos State government through the Ministry of Housing has reaffirmed its commitment to scale up the restructuring of its housing sector, particularly the State government-owned housing estates.
The Commissioner for Housing, Mr Moruf Akinderu-Fatai stated this during a stakeholder’s meeting and public enlightenment with residents of the State government-owned housing estates in the Ikorodu division of the state.
According to him, plans are underway to activate comprehensive restructuring of the housing schemes across the state adding that the state government has learnt the intricacies of housing management that is enduring and sustainable.
Akinderu-Fatai who urged allottees to comply with the rules of allocation and ensure creation of a robust sustainable environment was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Abdulhafiz Toriola.
The Commissioner disclosed that the essence of the meeting was to receive feedback on the priorities of various Lagos State housing estates and to proffer sustainable solutions that will make habitation meaningful and seamless for the residents.
He maintained that the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has in the past years scaled up its interventions to give facelift to the state government-owned estates and ensure residents enjoy quality of life through adequate infrastructural renewal, stressing the need for collaborative efforts by the allottees of various estates.
“There are rules and regulations when you are living anywhere in the world. We have a constitution in Nigeria and also have laws in the state. There is also a rule and regulation within government estates just for them to be on the side of the law to ensure that we sustain all these estates
“What we are doing now is to put structures in place to ensure sustainability of our various estates and this revolves around maintenance which can be achieved through cohesive relationship among the allottees, so that minor challenges can be addressed by the estates community before calling on government’s intervention to attend to the bigger ones.
“We should expect that as long as there is activity, there will always be challenges. And with this kind of engagement, we have been getting feedback from there and been able to make a decision to see how we can solve identified challenges in various estates.”Akinderu-Fatai said
The Commissioner therefore, charged the allottees to take ownership of their estates, conduct proper maintenance and be guided by all the rules.
Extending Knowledge
Earlier in her welcome address, the Director Estate Department, Mrs Olukemi Fosudo stressed that the State government has rolled out the stakeholders forum Initiative across all government-owned estates, with the aim to empower residents with knowledge of key issues affecting their quality of life.
And this according to her would foster collaborative dialogue between residents, facility managers, and government officials as well as promote strict adherence to estate rules and regulations.
She said “The platform will allow us to solicit feedback on present concerns, and encouraging residents to report infrastructural damage such as waste treatment and sewage eases, electrical system faults, and other critical facility problems, build stronger relationships between allottees and the Ministry provides opportunities for them to share information and knowledge and to also allow residents to voice their concerns and provide feedback on issues that concern them.”
Stakeholders Engagement
In their short presentations, stakeholders took turns to engage the allottees on various pathways to enjoy harmonised benefits of living within the estate environment.
The Regional Manager of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, Mr Adedokun Mathew emphasised the importance of solid waste management and enjoined them to continuously patronise government approved PSP operators and ensure proper hygiene in order to prevent pandemic within the estate.
In his remark, the Deputy Commandant of Corps, Nigeria Civil Defence, Mr Soyoye Oluwarotimi called for a concerted effort to scale up security measures within the estate while emphasising on vigilance as well as proper restrictive measures to guard against theft and unscrupulous acts.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Insurance brokers, among others gave their respective presentations to the delightful attention of the estate allottees.
The Chairman of Oba Adegboruwa Housing Estate, Mr Musa Ahmed who spoke on behalf of the allottees appreciated the State Government through the Ministry for the interactive engagement to further enhance the level of monitoring and compliance in the various State government-owned housing estates.