BEVERLY HILLS, March 01, (THEWILL) – The battle for the soul of a residential estate, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1 has assumed a new dimension with the major actors taking the battle to court to seek redress. On one side of the battle ring is 65-year-old Kayode Otitoju, the chairman of the Lekki Residents Association, LERA, while on the other side are aggrieved members and stakeholders of the residential estate. Thus far, Otitoju has emerged victorious from round one of the legal battle. But not satisfied with the outcome, the residents have vowed not to give up in their quest to wrest power from Otitoju and have decided to appeal the judgement of the case.
What exactly is the bone of contention? Well, when the nationwide lockdown was announced in the first quarter of 2020 as a means of curbing the spread of Covid19, it invariably increased poverty and crime rates in most parts of the country. One of such areas that witnessed an upsurge in crime was Lekki Phase 1 which became a soft target for beggars, miscreants and armed robbers. Residents blamed the chairman for the invasion of the estate by miscreants because he disbanded the estate’s security apparatus and shut down the estate’s office which had, in the past, prevented miscreants from operating freely.
A few residents approached Otitoju to get a grip of the situation but when he reportedly didn’t do anything and rather than watch his ‘non challance and incompetence’ continue to pose a danger to them, the residents quickly formed a group to tackle the security situation and eradicate the miscreants who posed security threats in the estate. These and a few other things the residents supposedly got involved in, didn’t quite go down well with Otitoju who not only accused these residents of forming a parallel association which he considered illegal and not operating within official capacity, he allegedly called them ‘criminals, cultists unworthy to make any contributions to the estate which they live in.’
Fed up with ‘his antics’ and following continuous altercations between him, residents and stakeholders of LERA and the Board of Trustees (BoT), Otitoju got suspended. His alleged crimes were listed as insubordination; unilaterally entering into and signing of land lease and development agreements with intending partners contrary to the decision of the BoT; refusing to submit handover notes following the expiration of his two-year tenure as Chairman on May 26 2020, even after other members of his Exco had complied, an act considered highly contemptuous of the position and authority of the BoT; lacking in leadership qualities and inability to understand what his portfolio entails.
Otitoju a politician who is said to be seeking reelection considered his suspension illegal and a witchhunt and subsequently dragged the association to court. Surprisingly, he won. But the residents are not having any of it and are making swift plans to appeal the judgement.
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