Daud Olatunji
An alleged scandal has rocked the Ogun State Housing Scheme, following the government’s failure to allocate houses to 200 applicants two years after payments were made.
The affected individuals had expected to receive their homes in the Prince Court Estate, located along Kobape in Ogun State.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the applicants had each paid ₦5,500,000 into the coffers of the state government with the promise of receiving a house in the estate.
However, almost three years later, they have yet to be allocated any property.
The disgruntled applicants, represented by Adeyemi Aremu, 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.
The third phase of the scheme offered applicants the chance to own 2-bedroom bungalows in the estate.
The forms for allocation were purchased in 2022 for ₦5,000, and each house was priced at ₦5,500,000, with retired civil servants offered a rebate, reducing their price to ₦4,950,000.
Some applicants paid the full amount outright, others in two installments, and a number of them through the Gateway Mortgage Bank, owned by the Ogun State government.
Aremu 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.
He expressed frustration over the state government’s unfulfilled promises and the rumours that Governor Abiodun plans to increase the price of the houses or allocate the 100 incomplete semi-detached 2-bedroom bungalows to civil servants, disregarding those who had already paid in full.
“The Gateway Mortgage Bank should have secured our homes upon making an agreement,” Aremu stated.
“All over the world, when you access a mortgage loan, you take possession of the property before beginning repayments.
But under Governor Dapo Abiodun, it feels like throwing a stone at an orange on a tree and missing both the stone and the orange.”
Aremu questioned the government’s failure to honor its commitment despite the applicants fulfilling their part of the deal.
He highlighted the discouragement faced by those who had invested in the state, now feeling defrauded by the government.
Efforts to contact the Commissioner for Housing, Jamiu Omoniyi, were unsuccessful, as he could not be reached.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the situation remains unresolved, leaving the applicants stranded and disillusioned, waiting for a resolution to their long-standing grievances.
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