The Lagos State Government has cautioned residents to beware of fraudulent estate agents advertising government housing units that are no longer available for sale or rent.
The Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, issued the warning in a statement released on Friday by the ministry’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Ganiu Lawal.
Akinderu-Fatai revealed that the government is aware of a misleading social media video promoting the availability of flats at the recently inaugurated Egan-Igando Mixed Housing Estate. He clarified that the estate has been fully allocated and any claim suggesting otherwise is false and aimed at defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.
“The advertised estate has been fully allocated. Its purported availability for sale or rent, as stated in the online video, is a fraudulent act by the agent,” the commissioner stated.
He emphasized that the Lagos State Government does not engage agents for the sale, rent, or lease of housing units in its estates. According to him, outright sales are conducted solely through the Estate Department of the Ministry of Housing, while the Lagos State Mortgage Board handles allocations under mortgage and rent-to-own schemes.
Akinderu-Fatai urged the public to verify any housing-related claims directly with the Ministry of Housing before making any payments. He stressed that the government would not be held liable for losses incurred by individuals who fall victim to fraudsters.
“Anyone caught in this criminal act will be brought to justice,” he warned.
In a related development, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abdulhafis Toriola, has called on allottees of the Egan-Igando Mixed Housing Estate to promptly take possession of their allocated flats. He noted that failure to do so may lead to revocation of their allocations.
Toriola explained that the directive is aimed at preventing impersonators from misleading the public into believing that the flats are still available.