Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has stated that under the ARISE Shelter Initiative (ASI), his administration has concluded plans to build at least, 100 houses for the poorest of the poor across the 31 local government areas of the state.
Speaking at the State House monthly prayer service held at the Latter House Chapel, Government House, Uyo, the state capital at the weekend, the governor explained that the initiative was necessitated by “the pathetic nature of places some Akwa Ibom families are living.”
He said the initiative was devoid of political sentiments, stressing that a team from the humanitarian office was commissioned to visit all the local government areas in the state and select the worst among such structures for consideration.
Governor Eno who said his mission to the Hilltop Mansion (Government House) is to positively affect lives, noted: “There are people that, if you see the houses that they live, you will weep. In our villages, most of those elderly people are suffering. We are building one house in each local government for now. We call them Arise Shelters. Just two bedroom flats.
“We are building them for those widows and less privileged people. We have seen a woman that when it rains, she sits there and shivers in the rain, and she has like eight children. So why can’t we build a shelter for her? She is an Akwa Ibomite, she lives here, so government has taken the liberty to build a shelter for her with solar lights and borehole.
“These people too deserve a good life. It is their houses, it belongs to them. We will finish and hand over to them. This initiative too will create jobs for people in that local government areas. The contractors will come from that environment; so it is a way of also keeping our local artisans busy.
“Our target is that we should be able to build at least a hundred houses in this segment, may be within two or three years we would do more.”
Speaking on the bulk purchase initiative of his administration aimed at alleviating hunger and starvation amongst the citizenry, the governor disclosed that “the beneficiaries will no longer pay any percentage of the amount on the food voucher. All they would need to do will be to present those vouchers and get the foodstuff while government bears the cost.”
He said all these interventions were palliatives by the state government, adding that some cash support would also be given to select persons in the social register, through AK-Cares, to help cushion the effect of the current economic hardship.
The governor commended the team of medical personnel handling the free medical outreach for a successful outing at Ikot Ekpene, saying that 550 surgeries were conducted as well as other medical services.
He announced that the team would be in Eket Senatorial District by the second week of April, 2024, to attend to people in that senatorial district.
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