Residents of the Royal Gardens Estate along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos State have peacefully protected against what they perceive as inadequate services provided by the estate management, coupled with the unjust imposition of exorbitant service charges.
The Royal Garden Estate is owned by Trojan Estates Limited whose Managing Director is Rilwan Olakunle Tinubu.
SaharaReporters gathered that the residents who protested on Thursday, 30th May 2024 with various inscriptions expressed their concern over what they considered exorbitant services/ maintenance charges and frequent disconnection of power supply due to the use of lone Bulk Meter for the whole estate.
In different releases, circulated in over 600 estate families Whatssap platforms, the residents unequivocally demanded the Estate developer, and its Manager, Broll to be accountable and transparent in the determination of annual service charges payable and disconnection of the use of bulk metering which is constantly causing frequent disconnection of power supply in the estate.
The residents who came out in their numbers, reminded the estate management that the Nigerian upper legislative chamber, Senate, had in 2015, urged the electricity distribution companies in Nigeria to restructure their fixed charges and re-examine bulk metering practices, in order to ensure that Nigerians’ only pay for electricity they have actually consumed.
Subsequently, the Senate directed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to look into complaints over ‘indiscriminate billing’ by Nigerians.
“Following this, NERC reported back to the Senate that it had asked the distribution companies to find a way to restructure the fixed charge, although it highlighted in its response that fixed charges were not illegal.
“In addition, Sam Amadi who was the NERC boss then agreed that the Commission would eliminate the practice of bulk billing for residential customers and replace the practice with individual metering and billing,” the residents recalled.
They however, regretted that since then the practice had not stopped in the Royal Gardens Estate. “The residents have rather experienced a more rebranded and constant upgraded format of exorbitant charges including constant disconnection of power supply.”
Aggrieved by the impunity, the estate residents led a protest, a resident had told Saharareporters.
According to the residents in the protest letter circulated in their WhatsApp groups, they also demanded an immediate end to insecurity within the Estate, which they claimed was being aided by non-availability of electricity supply to power street lights.
According to the letter’s they want “the dismantling of the Bulk Meter to end regular disconnection, worsening the supply of power and finalisation of the service levels agreement (SLA).”
Other demands laid were: Removal of bulk metering and commencement of individual metering, Execution of a Service Level Agreement between the Promoters of the Estate and Residents/Owners of property in the Estate, and addressing heightened insecurity in the Estate.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the MD of Trojan Estates Limited, Tinubu failed as he did not pick his calls as of time of filing this report.