The Managing Director of Powell Homes and Shelters Ltd, Arc Chibuikem Onyekachi, has said that the main focus of his company is to provide affordable housing for residents of Enugu and other parts of the country.
Chibuikem, who noted that real estate must not be expensive to be real estate, said this during a breakfast meeting with realtors drawn from Enugu and other parts of the South East on Friday.
“When you come to real estate, I don’t believe that real estate should be expensive for it to be regarded as real estate. Instead of clustering in the city center, affordable housing can be provided in the outskirts.
“When you go to Dubai, you have downtown Dubai and they live fine. So, I see no reason why we should all cluster in the city center, trying to mount pressure on very scarce infrastructure when we can actually open up other places, which will be more affordable.
“The only difference is that we will have to commute from there to wherever we need to be. So, our passion is to make housing affordable for the people,” he said.
On the issue of quacks in the real estate industry, Chibuikem, who is also the Publicity and Organizing Secretary of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), praised the efforts of the Enugu State government under Peter Mbah for signing the anti-land racketeering law in the state.
“Every profession you find in the world has quacks, and you have people who abide by the ethics of that profession. It is on that note that we have put together an event like this, where we bring in people who are realtors and would-be realtors to sit down together and share knowledge.
“This is to ensure that everybody is up to speed on the dos and don’ts because when somebody is not properly informed, you won’t blame them for wrong actions. Some of these people sell fraudulent lands because they do not know better.
“In Enugu, we are on track thanks to the current government, with the recent law that was signed—the land-grabbing law—which goes to secure investors’ investments. That is a step in the right direction.
“That gives confidence to the investor. When they know that they have a land title that is recognized by the government, there will be no such issue as losing your investment for any reason.”
On his part, the traditional ruler of Amankanu Community in Nkanu East Local Government Area, Igwe Bennett Ikenna, hailed Powell Homes and Shelters for their humane and fantastic approach to real estate.
He, however, urged other real estate firms to take a cue from the company by ensuring that due diligence is done before going into any community for business.
“I advise everyone, especially the real estate developers, to approach the traditional ruler of the community where they want to buy their land. He is the one who knows the state of the land in question. When that is done, you won’t have problems.
“Don’t just follow anyone who says he has land. The economy is bad, and people tend to do anything to make money. But youths should find something meaningful to do with their lives rather than waiting for who to extort.”
