Politicians flaunting private infrastructure as democratic dividends, developer alleges

From Uche Usim, Abuja

The Chief Executive Officer of Perfect Estate Developers Limited, Mr Dayo Babatunde has alleged that politicians are now flaunting private assets and infrastructure built by individuals as their offering of democratic dividends to their respective constituents.

He described the development as unfortunate as it pitches developers against the people as both parties lay claim to the built infrastructure.

Babatunde in a chat with newsmen in Abuja on Monday buttressed his point with an access road to his Perfect Estate in Kuje, Abuja, which he said has been variously appropriated by politicians and being showcased as part of their projects to unsuspecting citizens.

Asked whether some politicians have begun to take credit for the N200 million access road to his 600 units estate his firm constructed, Babatunde said “Already that is what we are getting, but we are here to also state it clearly that we (Perfect Estate Developers Limited) did the road and we did it for the benefit of mankind”, he explained.

On why his company had to shoulder the burden of building the road, the Perfect Estate Developers’ boss said the incredible bureaucracy in government establishments will stall such a project and subject occupants to untold hardship.

“Sometimes, it would be futile waiting for the government to do so”, he added.

Babatunde lamented that the burden of obtaining a N200 million loan to construct the access road could have been taken off his company’s shoulders had the government hearkened to the call for the provision of basic infrastructure in the area.

He said: “the financial aspect was also a challenge. Out of what we are using to do the project itself is what we are also pumping out to make up for the road. As a matter of fact, without a good access road, you discover that marketing the estate becomes a big challenge. So, we are also under pressure to make sure the road is a reality, while also building the houses; this actually affected our finances.”

According to him, several efforts have been made to get the authorities to construct the road but have yielded no result.

Babatunde, who called on the government to support estate developers in the country by providing infrastructure, said such an intervention would help to quickly solve the insufficient housing nightmare.