FG Seeks CBN Funding of Workers’Housing Scheme
The Office of the Head of Service of the Federation has opened discussion with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make special intervention in the Federal Housing Loan Board.
The intervention is expected to ameliorate the poor financing of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing Programme (FISH).
The Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, stated this during the commissioning of 18 units of two-bedroom block of flats at Technocrats Estate, Mararaba, and 54 units of block of flats at Solutionist Estate in New Karshi, Nasarawa State for civil servants.
She said the move would address the concern of the increasing cost of housing, high interest rate on mortgage finance and the poor funding of the Federal Government Housing Loan Board, which served as primary mortgage institution for the FISH Programme.
In addition, she said the civil service is also engaging chief executives of some relevant MDAs of government to mobilise support of their institutions for the implementation of the housing programme. The FISH programme was initiated in 2015 as a welfare scheme to provide quality and affordable housing to civil servants through facilitation of loan and mortgage facilities at a single interest rate.
However, the programme has been constrained by poor funding, lack of budgetary allocation, nonavailability of land and mortgage and alternate financing, among other critical areas.
Yemi- Esan said her office was in talk with the federal government loan board to make loan available to workers for them to pay back within the period of their service rather than approve such loans when they are about exiting service.
She also said the Ministry of Works and Housing has allocated five hectres of land at Gwagwalada Area Council to the FISH programme, while efforts are being made towards the mobilisation to site as soon as possible.