..Workers, pregnant women, elderly visitors struggle to access upper floors
Petition management over prolonged neglect, demand urgent intervention
Daud Olatunji
Businesses operating from the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC) Tower in Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, have raised the alarm over what they described as months of deteriorating infrastructure, accusing the facility’s management of failing to address persistent faults affecting commercial activities.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that tenants of the nine-storey commercial complex have petitioned the Managing Director of OPIC, demanding urgent intervention over the prolonged breakdown of the building’s elevators, failure of its central power generator and widespread office leakages.
The tenants warned that the situation has disrupted business operations, endangered workers and visitors, and exposed occupants to avoidable health and safety risks.
Findings by PLATFORM TIMES showed that one of the building’s two elevators has remained out of service for nearly three months, while the second elevator, which had been serving the entire complex, reportedly broke down more than a week ago.
The development has effectively left occupants of the high-rise building without elevator service.
During separate visits to the facility, our correspondent observed workers arriving early and forming long queues while waiting for the lift before it eventually became non-operational.
Investigations further revealed that even before the latest breakdown, the elevators only operated between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays, while tenants seeking service beyond the stipulated hours were required to pay additional charges.
The lifts were also said not to operate on Saturdays and Sundays, forcing occupants and visitors to climb several flights of stairs.
At one of the offices visited, elderly clients of a radio station located on the seventh floor were seen struggling to access the premises through the staircases.
The tenants, in their petition, lamented what they described as poor communication from the estate management despite repeated complaints through official channels, including the tenants’ WhatsApp platform.
The petition read in part, “Despite our numerous complaints and follow-ups, we have neither received meaningful feedback nor any update on the efforts being made to restore the elevators. The absence of communication has further compounded the frustration and hardship being experienced by all tenants.”
The tenants disclosed that one of the organisations occupying the eighth and ninth floors employs about 200 workers, nearly 90 per cent of whom are women, including pregnant employees and staff with underlying health conditions.
According to them, the absence of functional elevators has forced many workers to climb several flights of stairs daily, a situation they described as physically exhausting and medically unsafe.
Some pregnant workers and employees with health challenges, they said, had been placed on emergency leave because of the risks associated with using the staircases.
The tenants added that the development had reduced staff productivity, disrupted normal business activities and imposed additional operational costs on employers.
They also expressed concern over the difficulties being experienced by elderly visitors, clients and persons living with disabilities in accessing offices located on the upper floors.
Beyond the elevator crisis, the tenants alleged that the building’s central power generator had remained faulty for several months, leaving occupants vulnerable whenever public electricity supply failed.
They further complained of persistent roof leakages affecting several offices, alleging that repeated reports to the estate management had yielded no visible action.
The occupants appealed to the OPIC Managing Director to personally intervene by ensuring the immediate repair of the elevators, restoration of the central generator and rehabilitation of leaking offices.
They also demanded a clear explanation for the prolonged equipment failures, a definite timeline for repairs and improved communication between management and tenants during critical infrastructure failures.
The tenants maintained that although mechanical faults could occur in any facility, the prolonged delays in fixing essential infrastructure and the absence of regular updates were unacceptable for a commercial complex of OPIC Tower’s status.
The estate management is yet to react asnat the time of filing this report .
PLATFORM TIMES could not independently verify the reasons for the prolonged breakdown of the elevators, generator and other facilities.
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