Kunle Adelabu
-Shops not sold, but leased out for 25 years – Board Chair
The management of the Ikorodu plaza located at Ita – Elewa, has appealed to owners of shops that have allegedly been abandoned for the past ten years at the plaza, to immediate take full possession or forfeit them.
The management warned that the remaining 15 years in the allotted years to occupiers of the plaza will not be allowed to waste like the previous ten years.
Prince Jamiu Adio Saka, (CLU, CFP, FCTI, F.ioD,LLB,BLL), the Chairman of the Management Board of the Ikorodu Plaza, speaking with THE IMPACT after the board’s meeting during the week, also charged occupants of the business edifice to assist the board in managing the Plaza effectively by paying their administrative fees.
Other members of the board at the meeting were Mrs Olugbenga O.T Benson, (Vice Chairman), Hon. Waheed J. Owokodu, Mrs Zakinat Dosumu – Solebo, Hon. Adewusi Sulaimon and Hon. F.O. Lasisi.
According to report gathered, the plaza, which was built by the Ikorodu Local Government with the support of the Lagos State Government, has been under – utilized in the last ten years due to allocation of shops to those who are not in need of it.
However, contrary to the perception over the years, the Prince Saka- led new management has revealed that the shops are not sold to their current owners, most of whom are eminent individuals, but that they were leased out to them for 25 years out of which ten years have been used.
Prince Saka expressed disappointment at the level of occupation of the plaza which he said prevented the business mall from achieving its desired goals, adding that the management has notified all the shop owners on the need to take possession or forfeit their shops.
“We thank God for the journey so far. We have been able to take possession of the management of the property”, Barr. Saka said.
“The first step was to review what we found on ground, particularly the number vacancies that we have and those that are in possession.
“What we have found out is that over 60% of the shops are unoccupied and about 70% are leased and not put to use. They are just locked up and this does not help the management, particularly as it relates to payment of bills and maintenance of the edifice”, Prince Saka said disappointedly.
“For us to succeed and have a desirable result for the plaza, it is very important that all the shop owners take full possession and put them to use failure of which our board has resolved that it would rent the affected shops out and give whatever that is left to the lessees’ net of expenses which are administrative and general expenses which are payment for power, supply of water and sanitation among others”, he warned.
“We found out that the occupiers of about 60% of the shops have not put them into use in the last ten years and they only have 15 years left in their mortgage and we don’t want to put that into any further waste in the interest of lessees.
“We are asking them to put their shops to use and if they fail to do as directed, we will let them out on their behalf and net off our expenses to ensure that we have adequate traffic”, Prince Saka re-emphasized.
“The edifice was not established for closure. That is not intended. We must generate adequate traffic, make it marketable and worthwhile venture and investment.
“The plaza should not be different from any other anywhere in the world, even in Lagos. So, we are appealing that people should take possession and where possession is refused, we will have no choice but to put the abandoned shops into use”.
The Board chairman, while explaining the achievements recorded by his team within the short period they took over the management of the Plaza, said:
“We have rehabilitated the structure and we have put the toilets into working conditions while many other things are being addressed.
“One of the challenges that we faced on resumption was power generation. There was no power supply here for years but we have been able to reconcile that by ensuring that all the shops are powered”, he added.
“Now, it is important to maintain and sustain the power by ensuring that the billings are paid because we are rated as Maximum Demands Customers”.
While thanking First Bank PLC, one of the occupants of the Plaza, for their cooperation with the management of the plaza, Prince Saka also charged other tenants to fully cooperate with the board.
“Our big customer, the First Bank PLC, is doing very well but we want other customers here to do better and that is the essence of this press interaction.
“What we now require is for the tenants or the lessees to contribute for the common services. Once we get that done, then, we can have the edifice in the position that it should be.
“Unfortunately for now, we are not getting maximum cooperation from the lessees”, he said.
“Any edifice that you have less than 40% capacity in terms of occupation cannot produce the desired result. This is why we are appealing for cooperation now, failure of which we would take more drastic measures, including sealing.
“We have less than 10% of the occupiers that are paying the administrative maintenance fees which is as low as N3000 per month, yet people are not responding. This is the nature of our state in Nigeria and we need to start correcting that type of attitude towards public assets .
“It should not be mismanaged, rather, tenants should contribute towards the proper management of the plaza”, Prince Saka added.
The insurance cum boardroom guru also called on interested members of the public who are interested in owning shops at the Plaza to contact the board’s secretariat, while also reiterating the management’s position to lease out any shop that its occupant fails to take possession.
“I am using this medium to inform our lessees and other interested customers to show interest in the property.
“We have sent letters to all the tenants about our intention and adequately informed those that are on ground. We have also sent several reminders to them but we are still not getting positive responses.
“This is why we are reaching out to them through your news medium that has been assisting us since we came on board.
“Any new tenant should approach our secretariat located within the plaza to get necessary details. The costs are not prohibitive”, he said.
He also appealed to the chairmen of the six councils in Ikorodu division which are the owners of the plaza, not to abandon the Plaza to its fate, but rather ensure that they properly supervise and support the activities of the management team.
“We have been cooperating with the Council Chairmen and I think that they are listening to us and we can appreciate that they too have their challenges.
“They set up our board and I am sure and pray that they will not abandon us. You know that you can delegate and abandon and that is what we are trying to avoid. They should always look into us and supervise our activities and make sure that the purpose for which they set us up for is not derailed”, he said.
“For that reason, they are interested parties and the owners and so, they should not leave us alone, both in funding and management”, he added.
