The Managing Director of Powell Homes and Shelters Limited, Architect Onyekachi Chibuikem Emmanuel, has called on the governments of the Southeast region of Nigeria to regularize the levies estate developers, property owners, and investors pay to the youth of various communities in the zone in the name of “Ogbanecheagu Levy.”
Arch. Emmanuel, who also doubles as the Publicity Secretary of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria Enugu State Chapter, made the call during a live interactive program on 100.3 Udoka FM, Enugu, on Tuesday, stressing that the exorbitant levies, which often lack uniformity and proper coordination, amount to huge impediments on community development and the real estate business in particular.
According to Arch. Emmanuel, some communities have multiple rounds of Ogbanecheagu Levies, and sometimes a new regime of the Ogbanecheagu Levy enforcement teams tend to deny knowledge of the transactions and payments made to the previous regime(s), thereby leading to double or multiple payments by the developers after a few years. He further stated that, though the practice may have crept into the Southeast from the Southwest where the practice is prevalent, it is not outrightly wrong, but the problem is the abuse. In his words, “We find some communities these days doing multiple rounds of Ogbanecheagu fees because the method of selection of the enforcement agents is usually by elections in the host communities. So when you buy a property and you are quick to pay the Ogbanecheagu fees, if you arrive to develop the same property in a few years, some other groups would still come to check if you have paid. Unfortunately, sometimes even when you show proof of payment with a receipt, they would tell you that they are not aware of it, that it’s not an authentic receipt. Meanwhile, they were not in power at the time you paid.” “This is one of the areas the concept of Ogbanecheagu is being abused—a lot of extortion from investors and developers. But if it’s properly harnessed and regulated, it’s actually an idea that will go a long way in enhancing security and development in the communities.”
The Powell Homes CEO equally revealed that estate developers, property owners, and investors currently bear a lot of costs, providing their own security despite the huge amounts paid to the Ogbanecheagu youth, who, by the design of the concept, ought to further community development and, most importantly, provide security, as the name implies, “Ogbanecheagu,” meaning, “the age grades safeguarding the land.” However, he equally revealed that investors who buy lands from Powell Homes and Shelters Limited don’t bother about the Ogbanecheagu fees and the headaches associated with it because the company takes care of it.
The estate maestro maintained that an intervention by the government and community authorities to ensure uniform payments across the Southeast will go a long way in addressing the challenge of undue extortions in the industry.
