Residents of Royal Gardens Estate in Ajah, Lagos, have declared themselves victims of injustice, urging the Lagos State House of Assembly to intervene in their prolonged crisis with developer, Trojan Estate, over electricity supply and service charges.
Appearing before the House Committee on Housing, chaired by Mr. Segun Ege, the Chairman of the Royal Gardens Estate Residents Association (RGERA), Mr. Anthony Ogbebor, said the community had endured unfair practices for more than a decade, which worsened in the last 18 months.
According to him, the most pressing issue is the controversial block-metering system introduced after the estate’s communal generator failed to meet demand. Under this arrangement, all households are connected to a single meter in the common area, leaving residents collectively liable for the entire bill.
“Right now, I have over 4,000 units on my prepaid meter but no electricity because of the block meter system. We have met our obligations but are being punished by a system that is clearly against the law,” Ogbebor lamented.
He explained that while neighbouring estates such as VGC and Crown Estate are directly metered by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Trojan Estate had blocked similar efforts in Royal Gardens. “EKEDC has confirmed its willingness to meter us directly. Yet the developer, who does not live here, insists on a system that is crippling residents financially,” he said.
The crisis deepened in April 2024 when electricity tariffs spiked from ₦74 per kilowatt hour to ₦241. Because of block metering, the increase was applied wholesale, raising the estate’s monthly bill from about ₦60 million to nearly ₦290 million. With residents unable to pay, the estate has been in total blackout since May 26, 2024.
Ogbebor further alleged that Trojan Estate had ignored several invitations from the Nigerian Electricity Commission (NEC) to mediate and instead challenged the regulator’s jurisdiction in court. The case, pending for over a year, has yet to be decided.
“We do not want to take the law into our hands. That is why we are appealing to the House to intervene. This is about fundamental human rights,” Ogbebor stressed.
Lawmakers at the hearing reportedly directed Trojan Estate to produce documents on the court case and promised to revisit the matter. One option being considered is seeking the intervention of the Chief Judge to expedite judgment.
The residents are demanding two major remedies: the scrapping of the block-metering system in favour of individual metering by EKEDC, and full transparency in the collection and use of service charges.
As of press time, Trojan Estate had yet to publicly respond to the allegations.
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