The serene capital of Enugu State, the Coal City, was on Thursday ruffled as protests rocked the city over the high cost of rent in the metropolis.

The protest whichh was led by Comrade Kindness Jonah of the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, took the demonstrators around some streets in Enugu chanting that high rent is stifling tenants in the city.

Carrying placards during the demonstration with various inscriptions, “High rent in Enugu, no lawyer fee; high rent in Enugu, no agency fee; high rent in Enugu, stop legal fee, management and caution fee; no agency fee, no lawyer’s fee among others, the demonstrators called on the government to come to their aid.

Speaking to journalists after the protest, the coordinator of the protest, Comrade Kindness Jonah, said that the protest was against a hike in rent in Enugu which is getting beyond the reach of the common man.

He lamented that after squeezing yourself to pay the house rent which is on the high side, the tenant will as well pay an extra N500,000:00 for a lawyer’s fee, agent, management and caution’s fees before getting access to the apartment.

“By this demonstration today, we are saying that rents in Enugu are too high due to lawyers’ fees, and agency fees.

“A landlord does not need agency. A landlord does not need a lawyer. A landlord should write his agreement in common English. Go and buy a seal in the high court and put it there.

“Agree with the tenant and that is how it used to be before but now the lawyers came into the scenario and hiked the rent, so that a landlord whether he needs a lawyer or not will charge lawyers fee and agent fee,” he said and asked the governor to intervene.

“Governor must intervene because this is too much. The House of Assembly should sit up and enact a law to reduce the rent increase,” he stated. (Vanguard)

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