The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), an NGO, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shelta Panacea Ltd. to improve access to justice and promote affordable housing for Nigerians.
The Chief Executive Officer of PPDC, Ms Lucy Abagi, who said this on Wednesday in Abuja, said the partnership also aimed at providing free legal services to 10,000 landlords across Nigeria.
Shelta Panacea Ltd. is a Property Tech company dedicated to solving the common problem that exists between property owners and property users.
PPDC is a non-profit organisation committed to improving citizen’s participation in governance in a way that improves the integrity of public governance processes, fostering transparent and accountable governance.
Abagi said the centre’s programme interventions would address both the demand and the supply side, saying that the “demand side” refers to the users of the public sector.
She said that the “supply side” refers to those institutions, organisations and individuals that provide public services.
According to her, this is to ensure increased compliance, improve landlord/tenant relationships, reduce disputes and increase property values.
Abagi noted that well-informed landlords were more likely to maintain their property, adhere to safety standards and make necessary repairs as well as support for small landlords.
“The PPDC Access to Justice Programme has successfully provided free legal services to more than 9,000 Nigerians.
“The group, which has strengthened justice sector reforms, will leverage on its technological legal innovations and network of lawyers to support Shelta Panacea’s mission.
“PPDC will play a critical role in recruiting, supervising and ensuring fair remuneration for lawyers handling these cases.
“PPDC has always been committed to ensuring access to justice for all, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised groups.
“This collaboration with Shelta Panacea allows us to extend our expertise beyond the criminal justice space to civil disputes,” she added.
The partnership, she said, would ensure that landlords who might otherwise struggle with prolonged legal battles could access professional legal representation at no cost.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Shelta Panacea, Mr Austin Igwe, recalled that the organisation had years ago started the project to solve the problem that existed between property owners and property users.
“We’ve discovered that Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world where you earn monthly, and this is the basis most likely for the challenge that has happened between landlords and tenants.
“This has actually led to so many deficits, delays in payments and countless court cases between landlords and tenants,” Igwe said.
He cited some cases in which the landlords wanted to take their rent annually while the tenant wanted to pay their rent flexibly.
He added that the purpose of the initiative was to help solve the problem by providing the technology.
According to him, the organisation has been able to provide a system that guarantees the rent on the landlord annually just the way he wants it.
“It also helps to provide a bridge for the tenant, to also choose the payment at his or her convenience.
“This flexibility has helped to eradicate, to a large extent, nearly 100 per cent of the issues that have existed between the landlords and the tenants.
“The organisation is managing some housing property across 14 states in Nigeria and intends to extend the service to other states,” he said.
(NAN)
