BY TONY NYONG

WOrried by the growing rate of homelessness in the country,  the managing director of Highpoint Global Reality, Mrs. Imaobong Usoroh, has called on the Federal Government to create a special housing intervention for mortgage banks to provide low interest facilities to property developers and individuals wishing to own properties.

Usoroh made the plea at Uyo, while unfolding her company’s plans to host the first housing and building materials exhibition tagged  AKWABUILD in Uyo. The exhibition is slated to hold between March 22-24 at  the Ibom Hall Grounds. Messrs Highpoint Global Reality Limited is the developer of Highpoint Luxury Estates in  Uyo and Abuja.

The three-day expo, according to Usoroh,  is being put together by  the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Uyo Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, UYOCCIMA. Governor Godswill Akpabio is expected to declare the exhibition open and  also present a keynote address on Housing for all by the year 2020- the journey so far in Akwa Ibom State.

Mrs. Usoroh enjoined government to intervene in this critical sector of the nation’s economy as it has done in  other key but troubled sectors of the economy.
Mrs Usoroh said the aim of the exhibition is to bring together all the professionals in the housing and building material industry to showcase their products and services in order to promote sustainable housing development to alleviate housing problems in the country.

Lamenting the inability of most Nigerians to access mortgage facilities from banks, Mrs. Usoro attributed this to the high rate of interest charged for such loans. With the theme ‘’ Harnessing Resources and Materials for Sustainable Housing Development in Nigeria,” organisers of the exhibition will leverage on their network of international business connection to attract foreign exhibitors of building materials, equipment and accessories to the event, while the platform would provide veritable opportunity for both local and international exhibitors to rub minds on issues and challenges of the built environment, at the same time evolving a synergy for bridging the country’s housing deficit currently put at N17 million naira.