The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Housing, is set to renovate, beautify and upgrade its existing Estates to meet 21st Century standards.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Mr. Wasiu Akewusola, who disclosed this at a virtual meeting with the Residents Associations and Facility Managers of various State-owned Estates on Wednesday, decried the present state of some of the Estates, saying that the faded externals do not befit the Greater Lagos image.
Akewusola, represented at the virtual meeting by the State Director of Estates, Mrs. Olayinka Patunola-Ajayi, revealed that the State Government is considering the systematic upgrade of the aesthetics of existing estates in order to enhance the quality of life of the residents.
“The Lagos State Government is committed to making the environment livable for all the residents of the State-owned estates. We are working out a plan through which a sinking fund comprising of contributions by residents is made available for the upgrade”, he said.
He appealed to the Residents’ Associations and the Facility Managers assigned to work in each Estate to do so harmoniously in order to achieve the set goals and objectives of the exercise, noting that, henceforth, both the Residents’ Associations and Facility Managers will be signatories to the bank accounts meant for the maintenance of the joint facilities in the Estates.
While seizing the opportunity of the online forum to appeal to residents who are in default of their payments to the State Government to pay up, Akewusola hinted that a Taskforce will soon be empowered to commence enforcement on outstanding payments.
“I am aware of the economic situation of the country and the setback the pandemic has caused various businesses but l wish to solicit that those with outstanding payments should strive to pay up. Very soon, a Taskforce will visit the Estates to enforce payments and or penalise defaulters”, the Permanent Secretary said.
