Etisalat deal tears family apart

The property

 

The construction of a telecommunication mast at house 45A Olorunsogo Street, Mushin, Lagos, has torn the Olorunsogo family apart.

The property in question is said to belong to the Olorunsogo family, which was bequeathed to Ganiyu and Agbaje Olorunsogo. However, Agbaje said the property belonged to him alone. 

Findings revealed that the duo was formerly managing the house before the Etisalat deal.

It was gathered that the duo had initially leased the property in July 2012, to DIMS Investment Merchandise Limited, a developer based in the area.

 

It was gathered that the terms of the lease agreement included the understanding that the existing bungalow structure would be upgraded to a two-storey building.

 

The ground floor was also to be used as a shopping plaza, while the top floors would be for residential purpose.

 

Our correspondent gathered that the developer, identified as Prince Ajibike, was unable to work on the property because some member of the family prevented him.

 

Ajibike said, “We entered into a lease agreement in July 2012 to develop the said property and manage it for 20 years, subject to terms and conditions which both parties agreed to. We started work on the site, only to be ordered by the monarch of the area to stop. It was learnt that the family owed the monarch some dues on the property.”

 

It was gathered that the issue was later resolved sometime in June 2014, but by then, Etisalat had demolished the house and erected a mast.

 

It was found out that while the issue with the monarch was going on, Agbaje invited Etisalat without the knowledge of anyone in the family.

 

Ajibike said, “Agbaje unilaterally leased the property to Etisalat without the consent of his brother, who is also a joint owner of the family property. But now, we want to recover the investment we have made on the property. We may take legal actions if necessary.”

 

Ganiyu, Agbaje’s elder brother, also told our correspondent that the property did not belong to a single person, adding that the deal with the telecommunication company was wrong.

 

He said, “Being an elder to Agbaje, I have more rights to the property than Agbaje does. I am not only a part owner of the property, I am also a signatory to all of the family’s assets. What Agbaje did is totally unacceptable.”

 

But Agbaje insisted that the property belonged to him alone, adding that the worth of the deal could be the cause of the persent trouble.

 

He said, “The property in question belongs to me. It was allocated to me when the family land and other property were shared. I gave that properly to Etisalat and that is final. What gives anybody the audacity to think that we will continue to share the property after it has been allocated to me? The property is mine alone, I won’t say more than that.”

 

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Chineze Amanfo, explained that the property did not belong to Etisalat Nigeria, but was owned by another firm.

 

In a statement sent to our correspondent via email, Amanfo said, “Etisalat Nigeria engaged the services of Hotspot Nigeria Limited (a collocation provider) based on the guidelines of the NCC to ensure that the incidence of unnecessary duplication of infrastructure is minimised and to protect the environment by reducing the proliferation of facilities installations.

 

“These service providers are responsible for the lease of the sites, as well as the construction and maintenance of the masts. We have the confirmation from our collocation provider, Messrs Hotspot Nigeria Limited, that their lessor in respect of the site in question, has a valid title to the property and has agreed to utilise the site for collocation.”