By Reporters

Tenants in Osogbo, Osun, have decried what they described as exploitative hikes by landlords in the state and called for urgent government intervention.

A cross section of the tenants, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Osogbo, said that “landlords were making life unbearable for them due to hike in rent”.

They called on the state government to, urgently, implement a law that would guide house rent in the state.

A tenant, Mr Emmanuel Ayanda, who resided in Osogbo, said that his landlord recently increased his house rent from N180,000 to N400,00 for a three-bedroom flat, not minding his source of income.

“A few months to the expiry of my rent, the landlord through his lawyer, sent me a letter that rent has increased from N180,000 to N400,000, without any justification.

“The building is very old, without tiles and with old wooden doors, but since I cannot afford the said amount, I have to pack out,” he said.

Ayanda, however, appealed to the state government to rescue tenants by setting up a taskforce to control rent in the state.

Another resident, Miss Feyisayo Akomolafe, who lives in Ogoluwa in Osogbo, said that her rent was increased from N450,000 to N600,000 a year for a two-bedroom apartment.

According to Akomolafe, the way landlords are increasing rent without any form of control may result in a situation where many tenants might become homeless, if nothing is done urgently.

“This is a civil service state and not an industrialised state.

“I wonder where the landlords expect civil servants, who are still struggling for survival, to get money to pay for this exorbitant house rent,” she said.

Also, Mr Jeremiah Obeh, who resides in Ofatedo, Osogbo, said that he rented a three-bedroom apartment for N900,000 per annum.

Obeh, however, said that his landlord recently added N200,000 to the rent to make N1.1 million per annum.

He appealed to the state government to make a law that would regulate the activities of the landlords and their agents.

Also residing in Ofatedo, Miss Glory Adeola said that a one-room self-contained apartment she rented was recently increased from N250,000 to N320,000.

Adeola lamented the “arbitrary increase by landlords without any tangible reasons”.

However, some of the landlords who spoke with NAN, gave reasons
for the exorbitant hike in the state.

Mr Peter Osinubi, a landlord, said that the increase in house rents was a result of the current economic situation.

“I feel the government is in the best position to do something about it,” he said.

Another landlord, Mr Oladele Bode, however, said the tenants could direct their complaints to the government, who was responsible for the rising costs of items in the country.

Mr Abiodun Olowoporokun, Chairman, Association of Real Estate Managers in Osun, however, attributed the hike in rent rates to the insatiable appetite of some greedy landlords in the state.

Olowoporokun said that several efforts had been made to prevail on landlords to stop the unnecessary exorbitant hike, but to no avail.

“Once an estate agent tries to convince a landlord not to put too much on the rent, they will abandon such an agent and go for another one that can do their bidding,” he said.

Olowoporokun said that the reasons given by landlords for the exorbitant hike was current inflation in the country.

According to him, the state government is working on a bill to regularise house rent in the state.

“Once the bill is out, it will help to checkmate the activities of the greedy landlords,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Kofoworola Adewunmi, Majority Leader, state House of Assembly, said that the “Osun State Estate Agency Regulatory Authority Bill 2024” had already been passed.

According to him, the bill seeks to ensure that tenants are not exploited by landlords and estate agents, and it has been passed by the assembly.

“The bill is seeking to control the abnormal charges by the agents and the landlords.

“I sponsored the bill. It has passed through the third reading and has been sent to the governor for his assent.

“Once the bill is signed into law, it will regulate the charges and percentage taken by the house agents.

“It will not give room for any unregistered house agents to operate. It will be mandatory for estate agents to register before they can operate in the state,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Victor Adeoti/Ayodeji Alabi

By Joan Nwagwu

A former President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, has called for strong, independent unions that will protect workers across the country.

Wabba made the call at the 42nd National Union of Food Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE)’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Sunday in Abuja.

The theme of the NEC meeting is, ‘Strategic Partnerships Between Unions and Employers: A Potent Catalyst in Unlocking Exponential Growth Opportunities in a Depressed Economy’.

Wabba said that it was important for unions to strive to be strong and independent, not depending solely on checkups dues rather investing to generate revenue for their unions.

According to him, only strong and independent unions can protect workers’ rights, stressing, “if the union is weak, not independent and cannot pay their bills, their members will not respect the leaderships.

“To harness yourselves towards building a stronger union that can defend workers, instead of wasting your resources in all manner of things, you must continue to build on the successes of what our forefathers have built.

“That is, by investing. This is what has been happening globally with trade unions.

“For example, the Local Government Union in Canada has an investment that is over a trillion dollars.

“As we speak, they have bought an entire power sector with workers’ money, which is an investment.

“All over the world, some unions also have the largest hotels, construction companies because they have continued to invest with the workers money and knowing that only strong unions can defend workers,” he said.

Wabba, who is a former global President of the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), urged unions to ensure that the income of the workers are secured through investments.

He added that, without check dues, the unions can defend workers, as it is being done in other countries such as Germany, China among others.

“Who told you that trade unions cannot fund airlines. Who told you when workers go on strike, their unions cannot use their resources to pay all their members within the period of the strike.

“Through their investments, they can, and even their employers will be afraid of them. That is why you must build a strong union because you have all it takes,” he said.

The labour leader urged members of NUFBTE to support the leadership of the union and ensure peace and tranquillity strive in the union.

Mr Garba Ibrahim, National President of NUFBTE, said there was the need for harmonious relationship, mutual respect, understanding, open dialogue and tolerance among the members.

Ibrahim said efforts had been made to reconcile aggrieved members of the union.

According to him, the current leadership had embarked on reconciliation process of all identified aggrieved members.

He added that with painstaking efforts and prudent management, the leadership had been able to reduce the huge financial debts of the union. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

By Angela Atabo

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, says President Bola Tinubu, upon assumption of office in 2023, directed priority attention to 2,694 inherited projects across the geopolitical zones.

Umahi made this known when he featured at the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing Series on Friday in Abuja.

The minister added that the administration embarked on 65 new projects.

The minister, who described the President as “Guru in infrastructure development”, praised his commitment to the sector, as the administration marked two years in office

“I continue to maintain that the road and the bridge sector is the major sector that grows the economy and the GDP of any nation.

“So, I commend Mr President very highly for his commitment to infrastructure. That is a man with great courage,” he said

Umahi listed all the completed and ongoing projects across the six geopolitical zones. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi