NLC, FMBN Clash Over National Housing Fund Management: Threats of Withdrawal, Funding Limitations

By : Ogunyanwo Oluwatunmise

The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria have clashed over the handling of the contributory National Housing Fund.

The NHF is a result of the NHF Act of 1992, which requires employers in the private and public sectors to make monthly contributions to the fund. It is an initiative of the Federal Government aimed at mobilisation of funds for the provision of affordable residential houses for Nigerians.

The disagreement between the labour union and the nation’s apex mortgage institutions arose when the former threatened to withdraw from the contributory funds due to dissatisfaction with the fund’s management.

In an exclusive interview with Mrs. Timan Elayo, the Group Head of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, refuted claims made by NLC President Joe Ajaero. Ajaero had stated during an investigative hearing that administrative obstacles in accessing the mortgage scheme had led to corruption. Elayo explained that while the FMBN received a significant number of NHF applications, funding limitations prevented them from fulfilling all requests.

She said, “Oh yes, workers are accessing mortgage. That statement is probably coming from the expectation that everybody who wants to get a mortgage can get it. That is not possible because if you go by the number of Nigerians that would want the houses against the amount of money that we have at our disposal to disburse.

The National Secretary-General of the NLC, Chris Onyeka, expressed disagreement with the FMBN’s assertion that Nigerian workers were able to access mortgages through the NHF. Onyeka accused the FMBN of not providing proper accounts of the funds to the intended beneficiaries of the NHF, stating that only a privileged few were able to access the funds. He emphasized that the funds belong to the workers and should be easily accessible to them without any obstacles.