Gov. Bello commissions FMBN/organized labour’s affordable estate for workers »

…says state excited with actualization

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello on Thursday commissioned units of affordable housing estates built by the joint partnership of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) where he expressed the state’s excitement over the actualization being the main employer of the beneficiaries.

Governor Bello who was represented at the event by the Secretary to State Government, Dr. Mrs. Folashade Arike Ayoade noted that the housing estate was built to provide decent dwelling for workers and their families in a gated environment with integrated services adding that the quality of work and overall ambience of the estate justifies the time and efforts invested.

The governor said “I vividly remember coming to flag off the construction work here at the tail end of what had being a painstaking and difficult staff verification and screening exercise undertaken as a key component of our civil service and pension reforms in the state. One of our objectives at the time was to improve the standard of living of Kogi state workers including the access to affordable houses, where they can live and raise their families in a secure and functional environment”.

Governor Bello commended all the partners who worked together in the delivery of the housing project, while he thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the National Affordable Housing Delivery initiatives for Nigerian Workers stating that it was a sound and timely policy which continues to live up to its expectations.

This project and many more of such across the country are eloquent testimonies of the renewed commitment of the Federal Mortgage bank of Nigeria led by its Managing Director, Maadu Hamman to revitalize the Nation’s housing delivery mandate. We could feel a certain urgency of purpose since the MD took over last year, he said.

Governor Bello pointed out that the Kogi State Government was also pleased with the unity of purpose displayed by the organized labour which all played a role in the success stories of the commissioning pointing out that such was the type of synergy that is considered productive.

Governor Bello said “I am not surprised of course as we have been fortunate in the type of labour leaders that we have worked with as an administration in the state since inception. As we celebrate our 7th year anniversary, we can categorically state that our labour unions have shown passion for the welfare and overall interest of their membership which”.

He pointed out that the supportive disposition of the Labour union has facilitated a win-win situation for both the union and the government as they have been able to pay salaries and pensions up to date and across board, made serious in-roads into the decades of accumulated gratuity which the administration inherited and undertake various programs to improve conditions of service in return.

They have also speared the government the issues of strikes, shutdowns and industrial actions which cause havoc on the Labour-government partnership, productivity and prosperity.

Earlier, the Group Managing Director, Mahfas Engineering Limited, Alhaji Sule Salawu who was represented in his opening remarks pointed out that the project was only possible because the Kogi State Government not only made the land available for the project but the prompt remittance of NHF contributions to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria so that they could benefit from the nationwide scheme. He noted that the governor’s commitment to housing is a laudable and truly commendable and was in alignment with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a separate remark the Executive Director, loans and mortgage services, Mr. Lukman Mustapha alluded that the National Affordable Housing Delivery Programme (NAHDEP) comprising of 100 housing units and fully funded by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, which he noted was in fulfillment of its realization of the home ownership dreams of Nigerian workers who are contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme.

He explained that the project developed under the phase 1 of the FMBN/NLC/TUC/NECA collaboration consists of 20 units of 1-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, 40 units of 2-bedroom semi detached bungalows and 40 units of 3-bedroom semi-detached bungalows. He added that the estate is fully serviced with basic infrastructure including internal road networks/drainages, electricity, and water to create a conducive and livable environment.