By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has announced the allotment of 150 units of the 236 deluxe apartments at the newly commissioned state government owned Grace Estate to civil servants of Grade Levels 01 and 08.
This is even as he has built and donated 36 two bedroom bungalows to the vulnerables in an initiative aimed at providing more than 400 of such houses to such category of people in the state before the end of his first tenure.
The allotees would only be made to pat a commitment fee of N50,000 after which they would be made eligible to participate in a transparent raffle draw while the allotment would be supervised by a committee headed by the Head of Civil Service, Mr Essien.
This gesture according to Eno while commissioning the estate located in Ibiono and Ikono Local Councils was in line with his administration’s resolve to improve the living standard of Akwa Ibom workers through the provision of affordable shelter through a medium housing scheme.
He announced his plans to increase the number of houses in the two housing estates located through a public-private partnership initiative and directed the immediate construction of a Police Station, Model Primary School, Model Health Centre, Mini Market and Recreational facilities in the estate.
While commissioning 36 units of two bedroom bungalows for indigent families across the state under the his administration’s ARISE Compassionate Homes programme he approved the construction of 164 more to complete the 200 targeted for his first two years, and 400 for his first term in office.
He explained that the programme was another gesture of giving shelter to the very vulnerable citizens in their villages or wards, equivalent of what is provided for the Civil Servants at the estate.
“There is one person in many of our villages who is living in a thatch house and the roof is leaking. We want to be God’s answers to the prayers of such persons in all our 31 LGAs by providing a comfortable 2 bedroom flat for them. We hope that at the end of our first term, every ward would have at least one of these homes.” He said.
