- as litigation on real estate control subsists in court
By Olanrewaju Adesanya
A stakeholder Mr Olukayode Olatunji, a Lagos lawyer has cautioned members of the Lagos State House of Assembly not to break the law, as a litigation on who has control over real estate transactions still subsists in court.
Olatunji made this counsel on Thursday at a public hearing on a Bill geared towards regulating real estate operations in the State, held in fulfillment of lawmaking procedure where stakeholders perception are factored in.
The lawyer faulted the House for holding the public hearing when it was fully aware that issues relating to who has the right to control real estate in the state is a subject of litigation before a court of law and to which an order to maintain status quo has been served on the State Government.
“There is a court order on this matter. The House of Assembly should not waste time with this public hearing. We are in court and we must respect the law. The House members are lawmakers, they should not be a law breakers,” Olatunji stated.
Welcoming participants into the parley, the chairman, Committee on Housing, Hon. Bisi Yusuff, explained that the bill was meant to check the excesses of operators in the real estate industry and reduce quackery in the sector. He however, noted that court proceedings cannot stall a lawmaking process.
In his address, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni said holding public hearing is a practise by the House before any bill is passed into law.
Obasa added that real estate was an important sector in the state that must be regulated.
Reviewing the bill, the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade said the bill was divided into 37 sections and that the Regulatory Authority would be headed by a Chairman, who shall be a person of repute and a professional in his area of practice with not less than 15 years of cognate experience.
Making submission at the parley, the National President of Estate Rents and Commission Agents Association of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Alenkhe said the estate surveyors and valuers were omitted in the composition of the board and that the bill was an amendment to the 2007 law on real estate.
Mr Ayobayo Babade from the Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria counseled that young people should be encouraged by appointment as members of the board.
Mr. Bolaji Raymond in his submission said the bill did not provide for parallel regulation of the people in informal and formal sectors of real estate.
He added that there was no penalty for not meeting the requirements for registration and that it only stated penalty for those that had registered.
“Section 27 of the bill talks about eligible applicants, who did not register. Most of the people on the streets are not registered and what they do is not criminalised or penalised in the bill.
“With Section 16 of the bill, we are encouraging what we are running away from as an individual does not need to register with the CAC according to the bill,” Raymond stated.
Another participant, Professor Martins Dada from the University of Lagos want the House to be cautious not to create a bigger problem while trying to solve a small problem. Adding that the House should think of how to help the economy of the state and that every legislation should help people’s businesses to grow.
Responding to Barrister Kolawole’s submission that the Assembly may be committing contempt of court by holding the public hearing, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Wasiu Eshinlokun Sanni explained that even if the matter was in court, the House has the power to legislate on any issue based on a judgment of the Supreme Court.
The Deputy Speaker said even at that, the House was not joined in any issue concerning what Mr. Olatunji spoke about.
Meanwhile, Barrister Olatunji had said he will be going back to Court to inform it of the development and the impunity by the Lagos lawmakers who were suppose to be lawmakers. According to Olatunji, there was a Court order restraining Lagos State government from taken any action on the subject matter and to maintain status quo until the matter is resolved by the Court which is presently before Justice Aneke of the federal High Court and slated for 26th of January, 2021.
The public hearing was on a Bill; “Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority”.