Board to inaugurate 4 housing estates in Abuja
Estates
Abuja, April 3, 2019 Mrs Hannatu Fika Executive Secretary, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board (FGSHLB) says the board will soon inaugurate four estates located in Kurudu, Lugbe and Kuje under its core programme.
Fika made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
She said that the board in December 2018 inaugurated some housing estates in partnership with the Federal Integrated Staff Housing programme, being managed by the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
“If you go to Kuje today, you will find these proud civil servants in their own homes.
“Very soon, we are getting out of Abuja to other states to commission houses under the FISH programme.
“Anytime from now, we will be heading towards Calabar, to commission an estate which was funded for members of the FISH programme.
“And again, under our core programme, we hope before the swearing-in of Mr President in May, we will be commissioning about three estates, one in Kurudu, another in Lugbe and two others in Kuje making a total of four.’’
She commended efforts being made by the present administration through budgetary provisions, for the construction of affordable houses for public servants.
“Well, they are doing very well, if you care to read and are very good at looking at budget performance, you will agree with me that the housing sector has gotten its fair share of the budget of the country.
“I recalled before this present administration came in, we had received as a budget, zero allocation, not once or twice and we were expected to give loans to public servants.
“If you are given zero in a budget, I think the only thing you are expected to do is to close down temporary the office that is charged with this responsibility.
“But we are happy under the present administration, the government has been able to facilitate increase funding to us as their own cooperate social responsibility.
“And with that, we have been putting smiles on the faces of federal public servants.’’
Fika said that the board’s technical team monitors projects wherever public servants choose to build their homes, to ensure that the loans were used for the purpose for which there were issued.
She said that the board was partnering property developers with genuine plots of land, to build houses for Federal civil servants at affordable cost.
She said the board under her watch was also collaborating with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), for civil servants to access loans for housing projects.
“As I talk to you, between 2015 to date the FMBN has given us over three billion naira to loan to civil servants to renovate their homes,’’ she said.
