Homeowners and residents of Emcel Garden Estate, Orchid Road, Lagos, have voiced out the unfair charges and treatment allegedly meted on them by their developer.
The estate, which is located opposite Mega 1 Mall on Orchid Road, was officially launched in 2022 as units were presented for sale to respective owners. But in the last couple of months sequel to early 2025, residents have been complaining about a lot of unsettling situations they are forced to face.
Speaking about the developments which have called for a protest over the weekend, one of the residents disclosed that: “It’s been kind of tough here because of the way the facility has been managed and the way we have been given bills without consulting us. Last January, they just came up with a N50,000 diesel deposit mandating everyone to pay.
Here in our estate, we are even required to pay for power from a minimum of N150,000 upwards. The generator and power holding company is connected in one app and if you don’t pay for the diesel deposit you can’t even purchase power units.”
According to the residents, “The developer has refused to let go of control and management of the facilities of the estate even after selling off all the houses to individuals. The developer is also being accused of levying residents with arbitrary charges without consultation, not providing services as agreed while charging for them, and at this point, the residents are saying enough is enough, the developer must leave and hand over management of the estate to residents association.”
The Chairman of the residents association, Mr. Ikwumelu, added that: “Our mission is not to malign the image of anyone but to set the records straight as regards our demands to the affected developer. But at this point having our own facility management, we would get them to answer directly to us which is what should be done. So when you have a system managed by residents association, it is more structured, accountable and transparent.”
Between 2022 and 2023, the residents say that the developer failed to deliver several essential services despite continuing to charge residents for them for about 18 months until a certain incident in the estate gave a solid reason for it to be implemented. However, the residents have expressed their frustration and questioned the justification for the exorbitant charges imposed by the developer.
They have also expressed their demands, which include provision of a brand new 500kva generator to the estate by the developer, saying no to bulk metering and have EKEDC meter them directly and also the handover of the estate by the developer to the facility management company appointed by the residents association.
In his response, the developer, Celestine Emokhai, said: “At the moment in Nigeria we know the situation of power. So we need to ask them what the situation was before and what the situation is now. And also did anybody stop them from having their own facility? I am not stopping them but you cannot come to someone’s estate and be dictating to him what he needs to do. And if you check around, most of the estates are collecting diesel deposits. From Banana Island to some areas in Ikate and even in Orchid Road they collect this deposits and some collect as much as N100,000.”
He further stated that he had given the residents the opportunity to manage the estate; however, some individuals imposed charges as high as ₦150,000 to ₦200,000, with some allegedly intending to use the funds for personal business.
Additionally, he noted that he owns rental properties within the estate and emphasized that he remains committed to maintaining its standards, ensuring that it does not deteriorate.
Emokhai added that: “The estate was a joint development with other developers as their developers asked me to manage their facilities. So they can go back to their developers to provide the services for them.”
In conclusion, he reiterated that residents are free to provide and manage their own services, as he has not placed any restrictions on them. He emphasized that his role is not to hinder their efforts but to ensure that the estate maintains its standard and functionality.