The leadership of the NLC and other affiliated unions walked out of the inauguration of the housing estates project in Ugwuahara, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
The state chairman of the NLC, Okechukwu Nwafor, who opposed the alleged fraud plaguing the housing estates project, has challenged Governor David Umahi with avoiding the commissioning and revising the sale of housing estates to non-workers.
According to Nwafor, the Ebonyi State government has done well by donating land for the construction of worker housing estates. It is terrible that housing estates are being constructed and marketed to non-workers and non-Ebonyi state natives.
"Ebonyi State employees have contributed to the national housing fund, which is administered by mortgage bank PLC. Some of us have contributed to this housing development for 23, 20, and 16 years.
"Workers in Ebonyi State are dissatisfied with what the mortgage bank PLC done, and the process should be altered to ensure that Ebonyi workers had access to the facility.
The leadership of the NLC, however, demanded the immediate participation of the federal government, specifically the federal housing ministry, and demanded that the mortgage bank and the developer be brought to justice.
He continued, "The federal ministry of Housing should summon Mortgage bank PLC and COPEN services limited, managed by Ugochukwu Chime."
"We were informed by the mortgage bank PLC that the developer, COPEN services limited, sold the property and that they do not know to whom they sold it," bemoaned the organisation.
In a rapid response, the Mortgage bank PLC, speaking through its Managing Director, Mr. Kingsley Chukwuma, in Abakaliki, denied knowledge of the accusation and emphasised that the housing estate in Ugwuahara was allotted to qualified and paid-up individuals.
According to him, the accusation is false because our objective was to bring everyone along. This is because workers from all Federation states will directly benefit from this enterprise, he explained.
(Source: dailypost.ng)
