In all of the human society, aside food, shelter is considered the next in the order of essential needs of the homo sapiens.
Perhaps, this truism is not lost on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP when the founders chose the Umbrella as their Symbol.
“Come rain, come sunshine, Umbrella is there for protection,” they reasoned.
When fully actualised, all of the Housing projects in parts of Enugu State being undertaken by the Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration will go a long way to solving the accommodation needs of the people.
Fact is that the revolution in the housing sector will achieve, among other things, affordable accommodation, decongestion of the city and improvement of the aesthetics.
Truth is that perhaps, apart from Lagos, Enugu, the Coal City hosts the highest students population in Nigeria, what with the number of tertiary institutions in the state; and this goes with the attendant pressure on available houses.
Another fact is that the rate of migration or relocation to the Coal City in recent years has become so pronounced to the extent that gridlock on the streets of Enugu has become a constant feature.
This administration is conscious of this, and it is not surprising that housing schemes are taking the centre stage with the collaborative efforts of private investors and financial institutions.
Of course, they include, but by no means not limited to Signature Estate, Rangers Estate, Helius Estate and Centenary Estate.
There are also Maryland Extensions, Liberty Estate and Heritage Homes.
Most of these housing projects as mentioned earlier are being executed in partnership with some private investors and financial institutions, including the Federal Mortgage Bank Homes and some estate developers.
Civil servants in the state are to take advantage of the scheme to own decent houses, with repayment period of between 20 and 30 years.
At Elim Estate for instance, Governor Ugwuanyi himself presented keys of 100 units to junior civil servants drawn from 17 Local Government Areas who won the houses through an open excercise. Government went further to pay over 30% equity contribution to the developers to enable beneficiaries take possession.
While doing this, Rt. Honorable Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi reiterated his commitment to Ndi Enugu to deploy government resources and services to create fair and equal opportunities for every willing citizen to make a living, create wealth and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment.
Governor Ugwuanyi recent gesture is also a reaffirmation of his administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of workers in Enugu State and to ensure the provision of affordable housing for all citizens.
Aside Elim Estate, 750 housing units are also being developed at the Coal City View Estate.These are one bed room, twin two and three bedroom bungalows.
In other to make good its promises, government has given an indication of profiling staff of Parklane, Judiciary, Enugu State University of Science and Technology among others with a view to start issuing them offer letters. This is truly heart warming.
There are 500 units under the Family Homes Funds Initiative of the Federal Government at Nsukka. This social housing scheme is with the active collaboration of the state government.
In partnership with Family Homes Funds, another 250 are springing up at ESUT gate. Investigations show that government is targeting ESUT staff, staff of the law school and UNTH staff on what it called elongated repayments plan.
With the developments, it could be seen that since the inception of the Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration in 2015, government has not rested, but has made Housing developments a priority.
Instructively, the State Housing Development Corporation, ESHDC is at the centre of the execution in the three zones of the state.
Undoubtedly, governor Ugwuanyi administration has remained a no joker in the issues of Housing development in the state and would remain one of the legacies of his administration and a reference point in the years to come.
It can only be hoped that the projects are undertaken purely as a people oriented venture capable of reducing the burden occasioned by soaring costs of accommodation in the Coal City.
Government should be on the alert. The houses should under no circumstances be hijacked by money bags to the detriment of the workers and the poor folks on the queue.
Also, government should not only encourage Local Governments to pursue housing projects for their staff and other workers in their areas, but should also undertake such ventures in urban and semi urban communities like Oji-River, Obollo-Afor, Awgu, Agbani and Udi.
Bibian Anekwe News added; ” Home is a shelter from storms-all sorts of storms.”
Written by
Amah Baldwin
