Rivers Estates Allotees Owe Govt N1.5bn

It has now been revealed that allottees of various Rivers State Government Housing Estates are owing the state government a whooping sum of N1.5 billion.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Housing, Hon. Marshall Stanley Uwom, made the revelation in an exclusive interview with The Tide yesterday in Port Harcourt.

Hon Uwom also said that the ministry has produced a compendium on the state of the various housing estates in the 23 local government areas.

According to him, the compendium not only defines the challenges confronting the various estates, but names of allottees and amounts deposited were also captured.

The commissioner, who described the compendium as a holistic document, further said that the level of completion of the houses in the various estates was also captured.

He further said that as part of the process of checking encroachment in the various estates, the ministry has set up a committee on finance as well as a Technical Committee on verification of Government Houses in the various local government areas.

The commissioner listed some challenges facing the sector to include that of contractors, illegal occupants, non-completion of the estates as well as that of allottees’ inability to take possession of their houses after due payment.

He, however, said that the ministry was waiting for clearance on what to do next, but added that more funding was required to further develop the sector.

While stressing that the state has a compelling challenge as far as funds are concerned, Hon. Uwom said that government would not relent in ensuring that better and affordable houses were developed in the state.

He further said that government was willing to go into partnership with the private sector to make the situation possible.