Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Tuesday handed over one-bedroom apartment each to 100 civil servants who were successful in a ballot for the houses.

Ugwuanyi, who presented the keys of the flats to the beneficiaries, said that the gesture was part of the efforts to address the accommodation challenges of low-income earners in the state.

He said that the government had demonstrated a genuine resolve to support civil servants through the payment of 30 per cent equity contribution for the beneficiaries.

“I have promised to provide a fair opportunity for every citizen to make a living and create wealth so that everyone can enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment.

“The welfare of workers will always be of concern to this administration and this we have demonstrated by handing over the keys to the beneficiaries.

“The 100 beneficiaries were selected through an open lottery in which all civil servants from grade levels 01 to 10 were free to participate,” he said.

Ugwuanyi said that the presentation of 18 patrol vans to security agencies during the ceremony was also to enhance their operational efficiency and ability to respond timely during distress calls.

“We are also presenting 20 tractors to farmers in our local governments to enhance their capacity for food production,” Ugwuanyi said.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Housing, Charles Asogwa, said that the event was the beginning of the process of alleviating accommodation challenges facing the civil servants.

Asogwa said that the state government had also concluded arrangements to deliver additional 500 units of houses to civil servants in the next one year.

The Head of Service, Chidi Ezema, said that no fewer than 600 workers participated in the ballot that produced the winners.

Ezema said that out of the project cost of N350 million, the state government had paid 30 per cent to make the re-payment process easier for the workers.

He said that the repayment period for the mortgage arrangement was 20 years.

In an interview with the media one of the beneficiaries, Ndubuisi Obi of the state ministry of information, described his luck as an act of God.

Obi said that his landlord had given him a quit notice that would expire on Sept. 7, only for him to now become a house owner.

“I cannot believe what is happening to me today. My landlord vowed to eject me from where I live next Monday but God has intervened in my plight today,” Obi said.

Only civil servants in the core ministries participated in the ballot.