Chinelo Obogo
On June 20, 20015, the Implementation Committee of the White Paper on the Commission of Inquiry into the Alienation of Federal Government Landed Property, published an advertorial of the approved guidelines for the sale of Federal Government owned properties.
The advertorial stated: “The Federal Executive Council has approved guidelines for the sale of all residential facilities built, acquired or otherwise owned by the Federal Government and all its ministries, departments and agencies except the State House Dodan Barracks, Vice President’s Guest House, houses occupied by federal judges that are based in Lagos; properties excluded from sale by government directives; properties approved for redevelopment; properties allocated to the African Union and currently in use and properties allocated to the United Nations agencies and currently in use.”
Part of the stipulated guidelines were that public servants who are legal sitting tenants are entitled to the right of first refusal but they will be required to express their interest by completing the application forms to be offered this right. The right of first refusal must be exercised by the legal tenant and this right is not assignable, negotiable in any form or alienable whatsoever.
The committee also stated that each bidder must submit completed bidding forms along with a bank draft equal to a non-refundable bidding fee of N10,000. Bids would be closed after 30 days of advertisement and at the close of bids; the committee will sort out the bids and publish the full result in the print media. Within two weeks of the opening of bids, the highest bids received will be offered to the legal sitting tenant who may accept by paying the balance of the 10 percent bid value.
In 2005, when the Presidency authorized the sale of flats and houses to civil servants across the country, many Customs officers who were serving at the time and resided in the Federal Housing Authority Estate, Gowon Estate, Ipaja, Lagos, were ecstatic at the prospect of owning their own houses after service.
Retired Customs officers Augustine Umeadi, Samuel Onumba, Godwin Okorie, Abu Awulu, Mufutau Ogunkunle, Ali Mohammed, Ogbuta Gregory and Lawrence Abiodun are among those who occupied the 12 blocks of 192 flats in Gowon Estate allocated by the Federal Government agencies by the then Minister of Works and Housing, General Mamman Kontagora.
Umeadi told Daily Sun that they were allocated the flats while they were in service and had lived there for over 23 years. But this hope seemed to have been dashed as they all retired from service and the flats in which they lived for over two decades are under threat of being taken away from them.
He said despite the length of time in which they served in the Customs, they have not been treated fairly and wondered why. He narrated their story:
“In 2004, the Federal Government approved the sale of its facilities built by its ministries and agencies. An implementation committee was set up by the government to sell these properties. The agencies, which benefitted from such sales were the Army, Police, Federal Housing Authority, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, News Agency of Nigeria, Nigerian Airways (defunct), Nigerian Shipping Council line (defunct) and the Customs.
“In March 2012, the sales of these facilities were extended to us which made us file our ‘Expression of Interest’ forms and made payments of the required N10, 000 in bank drafts as contained in the approved guidelines for the sale of Federal Government owned properties in Lagos.
“On April 21, 2012, a verification exercise was carried out by the implementation committee on Federal Government landed properties. While we were waiting for the processing of the purchase of the advertised properties, which was unusually delayed, we retired from service, but note that before our retirement, we had done what needed to be done by paying the N10, 000 for indication of interest.
“While we waited for the processing of the sales of the flats, we reliably gathered that some other retired senior Custom officers surreptitiously made moves to acquire the said blocks for themselves as against the legal requirement in obtaining the said properties in the approved guidelines.
“In Gowon Estate, there are many blocks of flats being occupied by retired and serving civil servants from other government agencies like NAN, NTA, NPA etc. All other civil servants in those agencies in the same estate as ours were given the opportunity to buy the flats that they occupied, why should the Customs treat us differently from other agencies?
“The Customs also have two blocks of 32 flats in FESTAC town and the Customs officers occupying those flats at FESTAC were given the opportunity to buy them out and they now own them. Why should we be treated differently from others? Why the segregation? Why should civil servants from other agencies who live in flats within the same estate be given the opportunity to buy their own flats, then we are left out?
“By our status as sitting tenants in the said flats and houses, we are entitled to the right of first refusal. It will amount to criminal disregard if these properties are not sold to us as sitting tenants. We hear that they describe this place as Customs barracks. But it is not because it is owned by the Federal Housing Development Authority and some blocks were assigned to different agencies. If they are describing it as barracks, does it mean that other agencies like NTA, NAN and NPA who also live here are paramilitary agencies living in a barracks?
“When we realized that the Customs administration in Lagos seemed not to have any intention of giving us the opportunity to purchase the flats but to tactically ease us out, we had no other choice than to take the case to court. But despite the fact that the case has been in court since last year, a letter was sent to us on January 16 this year, informing us that a team would be coming from the zonal headquarters to inspect the barracks and verify the authenticity of the occupants.
“These sorts of inspection exercises always put us on edge. We have lived in these flats for over 23 years and a number of us suffering this oppression are retired and old. We are only appealing to the Presidency to intervene in this situation so that after serving the country faithfully, we won’t be thrown out of a house that we have lived in for many years. We want to be treated equally like other of our colleagues who were given the opportunity to buy out the flat where they live.”
Daily Sun spoke to the Zonal Public Relations Officer of Customs, Mr. Stanley Iliya, to react. His response: “There is a difference between ejection and verification. Did the retired officers tell you that we want to eject them? The purpose of the verification exercise is to find out the state of the property, which belongs to the Nigerian Customs and we have the right to carry out such exercises.
“That place is Customs barracks and we have such barracks in many places in Lagos State. I am not aware that Customs have sold the flats at FESTAC and if they say the flats have been sold, they should bring proof. The flats were given to Customs by the FG and it is on that bases those retired officers stayed there.”
When asked if there are plans to sell the flats Iliya said he did not have sufficient information to comment on that.