General
Royal Gardens Estate Residents Protest Exploitation
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Some Royal Gardens Estate residents in the Ajah area of Lagos State have accused the estate developer, Trojan Estate Limited, and its agent, Broll Properties Limited, of exploitation.
At a protest to kick against the activities of the organisations, the aggrieved residents also claimed the developer, which has Mr Rilwan Olakunle Tinubu as its Managing Director, has refused to obey the court directive on resolving the issues brought before it, noting that they are angry over the lack of transparency and disparity in electricity billing.
They claimed the facility company had to impose an outrageous service charge of N630,000 on each resident, which is also imposed on owners of undeveloped properties and an additional N27,000 for electricity consumption for the common areas.
Chairman of the residents’ association, Mr Anthony Ogbebor, said, “We are protesting three counts – Bulk meter system, which we insist must be removed. The bulk meter system is the system where you bill the estate from a source irrespective of individual usage.
“Hence, the total usage will become a token purchased by an individual plus the common area level. If there is any illegality in the electricity distribution, it falls back on the residents. It is not appropriate to bill us in such a manner, we should be billed based on usage and the various common areas should be properly metered.
“The utilities and costs should be documented and distributed amongst the residents. We can’t be grouped under the bulk meter system and accrue outrageous bills not utilized by the residents.
“Secondly, we are demanding improvement regarding our security. The security system is at its lowest ebb at the moment. We had to address the security issues by sitting with the estate facility managers, bringing in a consultant to evaluate the security system and designing a way out, which includes the installation of CCTV, automation of the gates and general improvements.
“For the past six months, we have tried to discuss this with them despite the residents’ readiness to take up the cost, they have yet to respond to us.
“Another issue is the Service Level Agreement that was not in existence from inception. We approached the court and the court instructed that they should go into agreement and mediation with the residents but the agents have been avoiding several mediations. To generate the SLA, they were expected to make inputs.
“For the past six years, we have been on this and Trojan and Broll have refused to sign the document. The lawyer representing Trojan is not happy with the refusal of his client to sign the SLA.
“There are other issues that need redress but we believe that if these three are addressed every other issue will fall into place. We are only canvassing for collaboration from the developer in resolving the outstanding challenges. We bought into your property does not mean you should hold us hostage.”
Meanwhile, at the time of filing this report, the facility managers refused to comment on the matter when approached at their office.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is eyeing stronger diplomatic and strategic ties when it comes to sustainable development as it participates in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).
President Bola Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday. His plane landed at the Presidential Wing of Zayed International Airport at exactly 11:30 pm local time.
He was received by Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi; Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar; and members of the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi.
Several other ministers, including the Minister of Budget and Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Mohammed Mohammed, welcomed President Tinubu at his hotel.
President Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi from Europe, where he spent part of his end-of-year break, engaging in fruitful discussions with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a statement by the presidency.
The 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, with the theme The Nexus of Next, All Systems Go, is a global platform that brings together world leaders, policymakers, investors, and experts to advance dialogue and action on sustainable development, climate action, energy transition, and inclusive economic growth.
This visit further reinforces the strong diplomatic and economic ties between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while positioning Nigeria as an active contributor to global conversations on sustainable development.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to account for about N55.9 billion earmarked for the purchase of some materials for the 2019 general elections has forced the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to file a lawsuit against the commission.
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/38/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP asked the court for an order of mandamus to compel INEC to disclose the names of all contractors paid the sum of money.
It was claimed that the N55.9 billion was meant for the purchase of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials for the 2019 general elections, which produced the late Mr Muhammadu Buhari as President for a second term in office.
SERAP is relying on the latest annual report published by the Auditor-General on September 9, 2025, to ask for the use of the funds, which is said to be missing or diverted.
The organisation argued that the electoral umpire “must operate without corruption if the commission is to ensure free and fair elections in the country and uphold Nigerians’ right to participation.”
“INEC cannot ensure impartial administration of future elections if these allegations are not satisfactorily addressed, perpetrators including the contractors involved are not prosecuted and the proceeds of corruption are not fully recovered,” a part of the statement issued by the group stated.
“INEC cannot properly carry out its constitutional and statutory responsibilities to conduct free and fair elections in the country if it continues to fail to uphold the basic principles of transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
“These allegations also constitute abuse of public office and show the urgent need by INEC to commit to transparency, accountability, clean governance and the rule of law,” it further declared.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Ministry of Finance has directed all shipping companies and airlines operating in Nigeria to submit their manifests through the Single Window Project (SWP) as part of efforts to strengthen cargo tracking and transparency.
The submission of shipping manifests before the change of policy was handled exclusively by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for onward cargo processing and port clearance.
However, following a memo from late last year signed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, all shipping firms and airlines were directed to integrate with the National Single Window platform to ensure seamless Manifests submission.
“I would like to bring to your attention that His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the National Single Window (NSW) Project on the 16th of April 2024.
The NSW Project aims to streamline and automate import and export processes at Nigeria’s entry & exit ports, with the dual goals of enhancing trade facilitation and increasing government revenue.
“By integrating the operations of multiple government agencies involved in trade processes on one platform, the NSW platform will ensure faster clearance of goods and services, improve operational efficiencies at the imports and significantly reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“Key components of the Single Window as defined by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and World Customs Organisation (WCO) include: (a) a single-entry point i.e. traders, shipping lines, airlines and other stakeholders should submit all required import and export documentation through a single-entry point on a centralized digital platform, and (b) single submission i.e. all documentation should only be submitted once and data only entered once.
“As a result, the NSW Platform will be the single-entry point of submission for all Sea and Air Manifests. Therefore, all shipping lines and airlines are therefore directed to integrate with the NSW Platform to ensure seamless Manifests submission,” parts of the memo read.
The Comptroller-General of the NCS, the chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) were copied in the memo.
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