The Lagos State government has disclosed that it has refunded money to 145 people that subscribed to its homes in Egan – Igando Mixed Housing Estate following their lack of interest in the housing scheme.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Housing, Engr. Abdulhafis Toriola revealed this while fielding questions on the allocation of the newly commissioned 270 Home units (Cluster 1) of the Egan Housing Scheme.
He pointed out that the delivery of the Housing Estate was plagued by various factors ranging from administrative issues to large-scale vandalization of the estate by hoodlums.
While lauding the patience and understanding of the early subscribers of the estate who waited for the estate to be completed, Toriola said “the state government has since refunded 145 former subscribers who applied for repayment with genuine evidence of payment since the administration of former governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode till date.”
Toriola, who appealed to subscribers that had applied for refund but had not been paid, urged them to come down to the Ministry of Housing with all necessary original documents.
For subscribers with claims of loss of original receipt or document, he urged them to provide a police report and declaration of Loss of Document or Receipt.
The permanent secretary said the governor of the state, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had insisted on protecting the interest of the old subscribers who have paid the full sum of the purchase price.
‘’To this end, such subscribers were to be immediately handed their home keys while those who paid more than 50 per cent of the initial selling price shall be considered with an option to balance up at the current selling price or apply for refund.’’
According to him, this was also in acknowledgement of the commitment made by the subscribers and confidence exhibited over the years, while disclosing that over 70 per cent of the early subscribers did not make payments beyond the initial 10 per cent deposits made to Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC).