By Maduka Nweke
In order to settle the imbroglio that usually arises in the settlement of rents among Nigerians, a bill to regulate rents paid by tenants to landlords has received the acceptance of the red chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly.
Speaking on the bill, Mr. Paul Udo Nweke said that the Pen Profession do not use their powers to their benefits. According to him, the Fourth Estate of the Realm has all it takes to achieve whatever they want from any level of government. “I am surprised that the profession is highly relegated to the background. They should rise up to their billings because if they cannot help themselves, it will be hard to come to another’s rescue,” he said.
Recently the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has applauded the Nigerian Senate for the successful first reading of a bill entitled Advanced Rent (Residential Apartments, Office Spaces, etc) Regulation Bill 2022 which seeks to regulate the payment of rent being imposed by landlords.
A statement dated January 21, signed and released by Chris Isiguzo, the National President of NUJ on Friday, described the bill as “timely and welcomed”. According to the statement, the bill, if passed into law, will be of immense help to poor workers who live at the mercy of exploitative landlords.
“We note the fact that rent in Abuja is very exploitative because landlords have no obligation to spend rents paid in making such rented homes decent. Payment of rent is a callous enterprise as landlords exploit the fact that workers don’t have enough to buy their own homes. It is in the light of above that we support totally, this initiative by our former President which will make rent payment less cumbersome and burdensome for workers.
“We believe the National Assembly should expedite action on this progressive bill in order to ameliorate the sufferings of workers who despite the fact that they are paid salaries monthly, greedy Landlords insist on annual payment of rent. Exploiting tenants by landlords, who support their acts of victimisation by arguing in terms of demand and supply basis, is unhealthy, and this tendency must be confronted headlong to reduce the suffering of poor workers”, the Union posited.
