Civil servants have been allocated 150 housing units of the 236 deluxe apartments free of charge at the Grace Estate in Ibiono Ibom and Ikono local government councils of Akwa Ibom State
Governor Umo Eno announced the allotment during the inauguration of the housing estate, Eno also commissioned 36 units of two-bedroom bungalows for indigent families across the state under his administration’s ARISE Compassionate Homes programme, while approving the construction of 164 more to complete the 200 targeted for his first two years and 400 for his first term in office.
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Commissioning the Grace Estate located in Ibiono Ibom and Ikono local government areas, Governor Eno clarified that the 150 housing units for Civil Servants between Grade Levels 01 and 08, will be allotted to beneficiaries through a very fair and transparent lottery process in the public glare, on a soon to be announced date by a committee led by the Head of Civil Service.
This, he said, was in line with his administration’s resolve to improve the living standard of Akwa Ibom workers through the provision of affordable shelter through low and medium-housing schemes.
The Governor disclosed plans to increase the units on the two housing estates within the Ibiono Ibom – Ikono axis and directed immediate construction of a Police Station, Model Primary School, Model Health Centre, Mini Market and Recreational facilities to enhance the living conditions of residents in the estate which he explained will be a mini-community.
He assured of more impactful projects in the area, including the construction of Use Ikot Amama and Ikpanya roads as well as the Ibiono Ibom General Hospital, with a charge on youths to support project execution in their areas.
“Today, we are commissioning 236 units of two-bedroom deluxe apartments. 150 of these units will be given to Civil Servants from grade levels 01 to 08. The Head of Civil Service must ensure that only people from levels 01 to 08 express intention and cannot do that expression more than once.
“This will be done through a raffle draw because we don’t want anything to be put under the table. For expression of interest, you will pay N50,000 (fifty thousand naira). When you pay, you will collect a form. We are going to set a day within the next month when we will all gather at the amphitheatre. Everybody who has bought the form will have a form number. We will put those numbers openly and we will conduct a draw.
“We want to throw it open to everybody. I will have no slot here, nobody will have slot here, when you win a house, you win a house and that is the end of the matter,” the Governor clarified.
Also, commissioning the 36 ARISE Compassionate homes, through the one in Ibiono, Governor Eno explained that the programme was another gesture of taking shelter to the very vulnerable citizens in their villages or wards, equivalent to what is provided for the Civil Servants in the estate setting.
“There is one person in your village who is living in a thatched house and the roof is leaking. We want to be God’s answer to their prayers. That is what the Arise Compassionate Home signifies.
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“Today, apart from commissioning this project, we are commissioning through this one house in Ibiono here, another 36 which has been completed. I have just approved the construction of another 164 compassionate homes so that we can meet the first 200 houses. I believe that before the end of our first term, by the grace of God and your support, I promise that we will give 400 so that in every ward in this State, there will be an Arise Compassionate Home,” the Governor added.
In their separate remarks, stakeholders of Ibiono Ibom and Ikono Local Government Areas led by Ini Ememobong and Sunday Udo Akpan lauded the Governor over the development strides in the areas and pledged their continuous support to ensure successful execution of projects and actualisation of the ARISE Agenda.
