{"id":39847,"date":"2022-08-19T18:25:30","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T18:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/broadnews\/?p=39847"},"modified":"2022-08-19T18:25:30","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T18:25:30","slug":"civil-servants-call-for-reform-of-national-housing-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/broadnews\/2022\/08\/19\/civil-servants-call-for-reform-of-national-housing-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil servants call for reform of National Housing Fund"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Some civil servants in the South East have called for the reform of the National Housing Fund<\/a> (NHF) to make the agency meet up its mandate of housing provision.<\/span><\/p>\n

They disclosed this to our correspondent in separate interviews while reacting to the impact of the NHF since its inception.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Enugu, a retired civil servant, Mr Vincent Okwor, said that the fund was meant to provide houses or loans for housing acquisition and other related issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okwor, a former Assistant Editor-in-Chief of NAN, said that in recent times, the fund had not met the requirements of civil servants and low income Nigerians it should be catering for.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to him, previously, it only takes three months to collect your NHF contribution and its interest after retirement; but today there is delay in this process and at times contributors are short paid.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of the fund is not being fulfilled and it needs some reforms for it to function exceptionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI collected my contributed money and its interest in three months about five years ago after retirement; but recently, a newly retired colleague went to the fund but was delayed and was about to be short paid.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt took him accosting the managers of NHF in Abuja and intervention of a friend working in the fund for his over N100,000 short payment to be restored,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A serving civil servant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the fund had not lived up to its expectation as even civil servants getting simple housing<\/a> related loans below N1 million was still challenging.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe fund mandate should be looked into again and see how to make it more functional and realistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cMyself and some colleagues applied for a Home Renovation Loan in the fund for N1 million and we even paid N9,000 for the facilitation of the loan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut till date close to a year, we have not heard from the agency office in the South-East whether the application is accepted or not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the purpose of providing little loan, let alone a shelter for civil servants is not visible any longer,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other federal and state civil servants expressed dissatisfaction over non affordability and accessibility of houses built by governments.<\/span><\/p>\n

They said that the cost of accessing and acquiring the buildings were beyond their salaries, urging government to do something to alleviate their plight from becoming house owners.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to them, it is disheartening and painful that after working for 35 years, a civil servant cannot boast of personal house or land.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Abia, a federal civil servant and contributor to the scheme, Mrs Grace Okonkwo, said that the institution fell short of the expectations of its subscribers nationwide in spite of the monthly deductions from their salaries by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).<\/span><\/p>\n

Okonkwo said that she and her colleagues, who also subscribed, had not got the houses they were paying for.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI\u2019m not satisfied with NHF because deductions are made from my salary every month but I have nothing to show for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor those of us in the Abia office of the institution, it is only one person out of the lot that got a parcel of land in Abuja.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the challenges for us here in Abia is that there is no Federal Secretariat, where we can easily take our complaints to or make inquiries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Mr Patrick Ufomba, another contributor to the scheme, the purpose of establishing NHF is defeated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ufomba said that to the best of his knowledge, not many civil servants have been able to access the fund to execute housing project.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said that he had spent over two decades in the federal civil service but cannot boast of having his own building.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt pains, especially when money deducted monthly from my salary for that purpose. At times, I feel defrauded because I cannot enjoy the benefit of the contribution.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Federal Government is expected to build low-cost houses for civil servants, after which they deduct the money from their salaries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, such projects are not seen, especially in states,\u201d Ufomba said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A federal health worker, Mr Julius Eze, said that he applied for a Home Renovation Loan since two years ago but had yet to get any positive response.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just disappointed that l have not been able to access the N1 million that I applied for since two years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI met the necessary requirements from FMBN but no official response from the institution on the issue to date.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish that the relevant authorities would intervene so that civil servants can access the houses or get loans as and when due,\u201d Eze said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Deputy Director in the federal civil service described the scheme as a scam that should be investigated urgently.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI appeal to the EFCC and the Code of Conduct Bureau to beam their searchlight on NHF and tell Nigerian workers what is happening with their monthly contributions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is painful that a civil servant at my level would work for decades and not own a house of my own.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unacceptable. Something is fishing and management of the institution has explanations to make,\u201d the lady said on the condition of anonymity.<\/span><\/p>\n

An official of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in Enugu who pleaded anonymity, urged the Federal Government to replicate same housing they built for workers at the Federal Capital Territory to states to enable workers at the state level to benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said, \u201cWe only see from television of government workers who have benefited from the FG housing plans in Abuja.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is sad that after retirement, one will be struggling to pay house rent, school fees for children and feeding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe highest thing any government can do for its working force is to provide them with personal accommodation, adding that many retired civil servants die because they cannot afford house rent.<\/span><\/p>\n

A staff of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, who also pleaded anonymity, described Contributory National Housing Fund as a \u201cfraud\u201d explaining that in spite of the contributions, many civil servants found it difficult to access housing loans<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI see it as a scam because the purpose of contributing is to enable workers own house but the house is not available for them while few ones built was beyond our reach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big challenge to civil servants that earn little; government should come to our aid,\u201d he appealed.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Enugu State teacher who simply gave her name as\u00a0Sabina, also appealed to governments and developers to reduce the price at which they sold houses to low income earners.<\/span><\/p>\n

She expressed dismay that civil servants in the state did not have houses of their own as well as accessing loans from the mortgage banks and other financial institutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow can a civil servant that earn N40,000 to N50,000 buy the lowest house they sell N5.5m, N10m and N15m,\u201d she lamented.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Anambra, Mrs Chinwe Orizu,\u00a0the state Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, said that workers were yet to benefit from national housing fund they contributed over years due to non completion of the housing estate scheme in the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Orizu said that the process of the scheme should be made open to the public for easy accessment of information to avoid a situation where contributors would miss the opportunity to own a house or get reimbursed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Christian Beluchukwu, a retired civil servant, said that he never had a house nor being reimbursed the contribution\u00a0he made while in service\u00a0\u00a0because of the tight process involved since no estate had been built by the government for her workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mrs Ada Okafor, a Chief pharmacist with the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching\u00a0\u00a0Hospital, Nnewi,\u00a0said that years back, she filled a form regarding the process\u00a0\u00a0to claim a house based on their contribution but surprisingly, till date nothing had been done to actualise the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mrs Pamela Igwe, a contributor with Purity FM, said that government should make the process to be transparent and easy to access for contributors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Igwe said that the idea was laudable as the condition of many civil servants were pitiable in housing area and appealed to controller in charge of Anambra national housing scheme to ensure that the projects were realizable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis national housing scheme is doable, Lagos and Delta states have achieved it so Anambra can do better.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need houses to be called our own so at retirement, we can rest from rent age,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mr Iwuchukwu Okafor, Federal Controller, Federal Housing\u00a0Sector, said that national\u00a0housing scheme projects were ongoing in Anambra\u00a0\u00a0and that efforts were being made to complete them for commissioning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okafor said that the national housing projects\u00a0started since 2016 in the state at Isiagu Community\u00a0Layout in\u00a0Awka South Local Government Area\u00a0of\u00a0the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

He disclosed that the projects were done in three stages which involved site location, clearing and erecting of the building meant for all grades of workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

He explained that the stages entailed building of condominium\u00a0\u00a0which implies building\u00a0\u00a0a detachable structures that contains three bedroom flats , two bedroom and one bedroom flat\u00a0\u00a0for all grades of workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPrimarily\u00a0\u00a0the process starts from interested worker picking up a\u00a0\u00a0form from the ministry and presenting proof of contribution amongst others which at the end of the verification exercise flats would be allocated based on the contributory value of each worker.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Chijioke Onyi, a supervisor with the federal ministry collaborated the claim of the controller and said that they were working hard to ensure the problem of housing in the state for civil servants were solved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Onyi said that some of the challenges they encountered include access\u00a0\u00a0road to the estate and expressed hope that attention would be given to that as soon as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, some stakeholders in Ebonyi, have decried the lack of awareness from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) on the possible steps to access the housing fund in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stakeholders, in a separate interviews with NAN, said they did not know how to access the fund or have knowledge of where deductions from their salaries were being stacked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mrs Chika Oko, a subscriber, said she had been seeing deductions from her salary but not fully aware of how or where to access the fund.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am a contributor and I don\u2019t know how to access the fund for the purpose of house ownership.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am sure some people are just enriching themselves with people\u2019s contribution, because I have not seen a contributor who have benefited before.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn houses built by the current administration, I have no idea and I do not think there is anything like that in the state because I have not heard,\u201d Oko added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Mike Chukwuka, a civil servant in the state, also blamed FMBN for lack of information on the Federal Housing Fund scheme.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018It is unfair that many civil servants do not know anything on how to access the fund even when their salaries are being deducted. We should blame FMBN that is managing the fund.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I am a contributor, and I have not had any need to access the fund. But I have a friend, who have benefited, but that was when the person retired.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFMBN should come out to educate people, especially on how to benefit to clear the negative impression by workers,\u201d Chukwuka advised.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another subscriber and teacher, Mr Kennedy Okechukwu told NAN that he had not seen any house built for contributors in Ebonyi by the current administration in the past seven years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okechukwu said that some of the challenges plaguing the scheme remained lack of information about the fund.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany people are ignorant of the scheme and how to access it,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Retired Civil Servant, Mr Wilson Okereke, Former Deputy Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA) said he was able to access the fund after his retirement.<\/span><\/p>\n

On challenge, Okereke said that he did not encounter any and added that the process was fast.<\/span><\/p>\n

He urged the people to stop the impatient conclusion about the housing fund scheme.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I benefited when I retired in 2020. I have no idea of anybody, who have benefited while in service,\u201d he stated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Imo, beneficiaries of the National Housing Fund (NHF) said the process of accessing the fund was seamless and devoid of unnecessary stress.<\/span><\/p>\n

A staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Michael Erondu, said the fund was a reasonable arrangement by the Federal Government but decried the bureaucratic process involved in accessing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to him, the stress associated with bureaucracy of procuring the loan from commercial banks is a far cry from what the Federal Government intended it to serve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also contributing, a senior staff of the state ministry of Information, who pleaded anonymity, said that the state\u2019s housing fund had gone moribund.<\/span><\/p>\n

The source, who hinted that the fund used to be operative before the start of the current administration, expressed confidence that it would be reinstated.<\/span><\/p>\n

It noted that the fund was seamlessly assessed when it was still available to workers, adding that it provided a viable platform for civil servants in the state to own a house.<\/span><\/p>\n

A retiree, Mrs Kate Ubochioma, said that she could not enjoy the Fund due to its unavailability throughout the period she worked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ubochioma called on the state government to revive the fund for the benefit of civil servants, especially low income earners.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, a secondary school teacher, Mrs Chinwendu Ohaya, commended the Federal Government for the fund, adding that she had begun the construction of her own house.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I accessed the fund from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and it was helpful. I am currently building my own house,\u201d Ohaya said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another beneficiary, Mrs Ngozika Hyacinth, said that the long duration for repayment of the loan negatively impacted her salary, amounting to almost infinitesimal amount.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hyacinth, who works as a nurse, called for a review of the initiative to guarantee a more citizen-friendly process and repayment system.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Mr Anthony Uwa, who pleaded that the establishment should not be mentioned, called for an increase in government support to the fund to enable it serve its purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will help restore belief in the system and attract more potential benefits,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n