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•Calls on S/East Govs. To Intervene
The Campaign for Democracy South East Zone and the Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders Foundation (CD/HURIDE) has decried high cost of rent in the South East of Nigeria.
Addressing newsmen after its strategic meeting in Enugu, capital of Enugu State weekend, the leader of the groups, Dede Uzor A Uzor, asked the Governors of South East and other stakeholders such as traditional rulers and religious leaders not to remain indifferent but intervene in the matter.
He said that the astronomical increase of building materials has led to rent increase in the zone and it is becoming unbearable to the people and embarrassing to all too.
Dede Uzor said, it is unfortunate that houses built in the 80s, 90s and 2000s when the cost of building materials were still low and the landlords have even recouped the cost of building the houses are still charging astronomical rent.
He said the cost of three bed room apartments for those old houses has shot up to about N700, 000, while rent for three bed rooms of other buildings without water and alternative source of power are put at N500, 000 respectively
Dede Uzor said this is condemnable,saying that some of these landlords are just “greedy and wicked”.
The CD/HURIDE leader said that South East economy is petty business economy which cannot sustain high cost of rents, stressing that no city in the South East is an economic or political capital like Lagos and Abuja respectively or even oil city like Porthacourt to sustain such astronomical cost of rent.
He called on the Governors of South East and other stakeholders in the zone to urgently intervene and address this issue before it gets out of hands.
Dede Uzor warned that this type of high cost of rent can increase societal vices such as robbery, kidnappings, advance fee fraud, yahoo, yahoo, rituals, prostitution, and other sorts of crime in the zone which are already militating against the society.Dede Uzor cautioned
