- How the Invaded our Office In Gestapo Style—El— Salem MD
The Consumer Protection Council, CPC are on the news but this time for the wrong reasons. Its action recently on property developer in Abuja has been described as an irresponsible act of gaining cheap popularity.
According to Mr. Ben Gbade Ojo, the Managing Director of El-Salem Nigeria Limited, he said; “on Monday February 25, 2013 around 10 am, residents and passer-by of the Garki Area 1 section watched in horror as a convey of vehicles belonging to the Consumer Protection Council(CPC) filled with its officials, thugs and stern-looking armed policemen, swept into the premises of El-Salem Nigeria Ltd, located in the area and in a true Gestapo style, as if starring in a gangster movie, the CPC officials, along with their thugs and policemen, jumped out of their vehicles and invaded the head office of El-Salem workers on duty were quickly rounded-up at gun-point, while the invading CPC gang went from room to room, jerking off computers, office equipment, files, telecommunication cables and several other items.”
Not done with the invasion, Mr. Ben also alleged that, they CPC did carted away all the office equipment and loaded into their vehicles even as he said that members of the public gathered and looked on in amazement; “The El-Salem office was completely looted by the CPC officials and their thugs, and appeals by our traumatized and cowed staff to be allowed to take inventory of El-Salem property being carted away were rejected by the CPC officials and their thugs.”
To make the look like as if they are doing their job; “With their vehicles fully loaded with El- Salem property, the CPC officials set about addressing a group of journalists they brought with them. Right there on El-Salem premises, in the full hearing of members of the public, the CPC officials told the journalists that El-Salem was a fraudulent company engaged in the criminal activity of collecting money from members of the public, promising to build houses for them but neither building nor refunding the money to customers. The CPC also alleged that invitations sent to El-Salem by the council top appear before it were not honoured by El-Salem, adding that El-Salem neither responded to their letters nor appeared at the Council’s office, the El- Salem MD said.
Speaking further, Mr. Ojo said that, he and the management of El- Salem Nigeria Limited wish to state, without any equivocation, that the CPC lied in all ramifications; “For the avoidance of doubt, El-Salem Nigeria Limited is a multiple, award-winning, mass housing development company with a verifiable track record of delivering high quality and affordable homes. We still hold the award of “most outstanding Estate Developer in Abuja” given tous by the (Resident Doctors Association of Nigeria Abuja Branch).”
Moreover he said that; El-Salem is a high ranking member of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) and also a member of the American National Association of Home Builders; “We also have, on-going housing projects 300 units Dutse Affordable Housing Estate. Dutse, Jigawa state. El-Salem has developed and delivered the Anu-Oluwa Estates, phase 1 and 2 in Kubwa and the houses were fully purchased by Nigerians who are living there now. Currently, El-Salem is developing Cooperative City Garden pyakassa, Lugbe, a beautifully planned700 units Housing Estate being developed in three phases 1 with over 250 housing units was completed and commissioned by the Honourable Minister of Lands, Housing and urban development, Ms. Ama Pepple. The beautiful estate boasts of a good tarred road network, 2 units of 500KVA transformers, streetlights, culverts, drainages, landscape grounds, water supply reservoirs, safety and security surveillance systems, provision for schools, medical centre, shopping centre, in addition to other trappings luxury.”
Meanwhile Contrary to the misinformation being dished out to the public by the CPC, El-Salem said that that there is no subscriber who has fully paid for a house that has not been given the house; “El-Salem has more houses in the estate than the subscribers. Till date, we do not have anybody who has completed payment for a house but who has not been given the house. There are still many houses at the estate waiting for buyers. We want to state clearly that the CPC wrote to us in respect of four subscribers who made equity payments of 20-30 percent but who have not been able to complete payment for their houses either installmentally or through mortgage and yet are asking for houses to be given to them, or their equity payments to be refunded.”
According to the company it said that; “Firstly, El-Salem Nigeria Limited delivers houses only to subscribers who have made full payment for their houses either outright, installmentally or through mortgage. El-Salem does not deliver houses to those who have not made full payment for their houses.But for subscribers that made equity contribution of say 10-20 percent of the cost of the house and is unable to make further payments we do refund such deposits but the timing of the refund is absolutely subject to our cash flow since funds coming to the hand of a Developer is never for safekeeping but rather for building houses, roads, drainage and other amenities within the estate alternatively, the subscriber will have to wait for the house to be sold or get a buyer to buy the house in order to hasten the refund.”
Meanwhile El- Salem also said that; “Contrary to what the CPC told members of the public, on receiving the invitation from CPC, El-Salem responded in writing and the CPC received and acknowledge our letters. We also physically visited the CPC headquarters and made our position known to its officials. Having responded to the CPC both in writing and through visit to their office, we are therefore at a loss as to what informed the invasion of our head office by the CPC, and the looting of our property by its staff and thugs, with the police giving them armed cover to perpetrate this callous illegality.”
“We strongly believe that CPC has never bothered to visit the estate it is talking about and so has no knowledge of what is truly on ground at the estate. The Council is naively perpetrating illegality based on inaccurate information it received from four subscribers who till today have not completed payment for their houses but would like to be handed over the houses.”
