Estates Occupants Decry Decay Of Facilities

Residents of some estates in the FCT have called on developers and relevant government authorities to provide infrastructure and ensure its sustainability to make life comfortable for residents.
Some estate residents, who spoke with reporters in Kuje and AMAC, last Sunday lamented the decay in facilities initially installed to serve the occupants.
A resident of Union Homes Housing Estate in Kuje, Mr John Okwubor, told The Tide source that the estate had no central source of water.
Okwubor said private boreholes and local wells were the only sources of water in the estate.
He said that the only central borehole originally planned to serve the residents had not worked for over five years.
According to our source the contractors had abandoned the water projects because the estate developer defaulted in payment.
He said N24, 000 service charge was being paid annually by residents for security and refuse evacuation in the estate.
“When I packed in here, I was told that the estate is being managed by Union Homes Savings and Loan but as I speak to you, I have spent four years in the estate and have not seen the managers.
“It has been the estate resident association that has been managing the estate and ensuring its security,” he said.
A resident of “El-Rufai Estate” in Kuje, Mr Kunle Adebayo, said the initial proposal for the estate was for the government to provide infrastructure while the developer build the houses.
El-Rufai Estate is a cluster of estates built by different developers including Hydra Properties, NAF Housing and Construction Company and NAF Properties.
He said the developers had taken over the responsibility since government could not provide the needed basic infrastructure in the estate.
Adebayo said that Hydra Properties’ part of the estate had central source of water, while others rely on private boreholes as source of water.