Somi Steam Car Wash has sent a protest letter to the management of Conoil over its (Conoil ) upward review of rent on the parcel land it rented to the car was outfit.
According to the proprietor of Somi Car Wash, Mr Somi Uranta, ‘I came into this place in july, 1993, I developed the refuse dump site given to me by the then National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company, and have created a thriving business out of that refuse dump site, now, Conoil management has fenced off one third of the business space even when my rental is still running till December, 2026.
Somi Steam Car Wash is on #90 Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun by Welfare Bus Stop beside a Conoil Filling Station on the way to Ojota Bus Stop from Ikeja; and according to the owner of the car wash outfit, Mr Somi Uranta, the oil giant has reviewed the rent upward by over 650% in 3 months, disregarding the terms and agreement it entered with Somi Steam Car Wash, which has not expired.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos Mr Somi Uranta, narrated how he paid N4.5m to Conoil Plc covering January 2024 to December 2026.
According to Uranta, ‘in July 2025, the rent was increased to N7m per year and “when I sent a message to them that my rent has not expired, why the increase? Instead, they came in August to fence us off the land to create a thoroughfare for their new tenant, an auto painter, thus destroying my very costly concrete flooring and fencing my car wash premises off, while leaving us in a cul=de=sac, thereby jeopardising the safety of our customer’s cars in the event of an emergency.
” And when I reminded them in a letter that the auto painter that they are sacrificing us for is attracted to the place by our operations.That he came there so he can benefit from our car owners’ clients by marketing his auto painting business to them, so if they kill my business, who will he market his to?
Before now, a certain Lebanese had also operated the same car painting business at the same spot without issues.
Conoil however, wrote again to me in September in a letter signed by Mr. Ukwa Anya and Dr. Praveen Jr. Sinha, that the annual rent for the space has been increased again to N10.270m per annum with a priviso that they can repossess their property within one month notice any time they so desire.
They even refused to acknowledge our long-standing presence at the site, as they captioned their letter as, “OFFER LETTER.
“So my lawyer said we should go to court and demand compensation for the damage they have done to the portion of the land given to me because I practically developed the place, which was a refuse dump site when I rented the place from its former owner, National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company in July 1993. That it is obvious that they want me out of the place. Today, the rent, which was N12,000 per year in 1995, when I commenced commercial operation, is now N10.270 million.
However, when contacted through telephone, Mr. Ukwa Anya, Head Retail Network Service and .NFR Business, one of the signatories in the letters to Uranta, said, “rent is now charged per square meter. It is not peculiar to one person . All tenants are charged per square meter, so why does he not want another person. A landlord reserves the right to do what he likes with his property. All negotiation was with Somi. We are only creating a thorough fare for other tenants within the premises. We carried him along. I am surprised that Somi has gone to the press and using a lawyer to write the company,” he said.
