Governor Orji politically transforming housing policy in Abia State

Since the beginning of the administration of Governor Theodore Orji he has never relented in the provision of the infrastructure for the people of the state especially in the area of housing as he set out to ensure that there are houses for all categories of people in the state irrespective of where they are from or living.

Orji started from the renovation of all general hospitals scattered across the state, then he moved to the building off 250 health centres in all nooks and crannies of the state, which are now being equipped.

The governor worried over the development that many workers are still coming to work from outside the state capital, he set out to commence the building of housing estates in the state capital with the hope of making houses cheaper for everyone in the state.

The special adviser to the governor on housing, Engr Nwabueze Onwuneme said that the governor has been worried over the lack of houses for the workers of the state most of who come from Aba, Owerri and other neighbouring state capitals and cities around the state. Onwuneme said that this made the governor to start the massive building of estates across the state.

He said that the estate at Adelabu Street was started and completed in record time and the houses have been sold to the beneficiaries, stressing that other estates have been moving on simultaneously, thereby making the state one big construction site, where people of all shades and sizes have been coming to work and earn their living.

Onwuneme said that the government of Abia state is set to commence the sale of 1000 housing units at Ochendo Liberation estate at Amauba and Isieke housing estate before the end of the year and has asked interested would be owners to collect the forms for the allocation.

The Special Adviser to Abia state governor on Housing, Engr. Nwabueze Onwuneme said that the housing policy of the present administration has gone above 80% in the revolution aimed at providing housing for all before 2015, with the addition of more houses at the commissioner’s quarters. The governor believes that the state has the capacity to increase its executive council which caused the need for more houses at the estate.

Onwuneme said that the state government under the present administration is determined to deliver over 1000 units of different categories of houses across the state by the end of the second quarter of this year apart from others earlier delivered.

The housing adviser said that from inception, Governor Theodore Orji’s administration set out to ensure that housing problems will be a thing of the past, as the governor directed that a road map to housing revolution be produced and followed to the end.

Onwuneme said that after looking at the United Nations data on housing in the state, “Which gave the state a deficit of 300,000 houses, we decided to change the situation by starting what we called mass housing so that there will be affordable houses for all”.

He said that this made the governor to start the building of several housing estates like Amauba, Isieke, Amauba 2 for civil servants called Ochendo Liberation estates, adding that government is also developing a cluster business area apart from the housing estates.

The adviser on housing said that the governor has directed that a new housing estate be established in all the three senatorial zones in the state, stressing that the aim is for housing pressure to be reduced in both Aba and Umuahia respectively.

Onwuneme regretted that former governments did little or nothing in the area of mass housing and laying solid foundation for the growth of the state, “This why the governor is in a hurry to develop the state by doing the basic foundation after 21 years the state was created”.

He noted that the governor’s housing projects have cut across all sectors of the society, “The governor has built 256 health centres, 2 diagnostic centres in both Aba and Umuahia, dialysis centre, new structures at the school of midwifery Amachara and the building of doctor’s quarters.

We have also not allowed the judiciary to suffer as all old court houses have been renovated, new ones built; the legislature has not been left behind as new office complex has been built for them and the new government house.

We are not going to forget the new state secretariat, international conference centre, four new additional blocks at the commissioners’ quarters, ASEPA building, the new markets for both relief and industrial and the administrative block for workers of the state radio/television among many others”.

 

Onwuneme assured that the government of Theodore Orji will not have any uncompleted building by the time it will be leaving office in the next few years, “We know what we are doing as they are well thought out, which is why all our projects are moving at a lighting speed”.

The Nation