740 civil servants get N643m housing loans

• 740 civil servants get N643m housing loans

A total of 740 civil servants on Monday received N643m from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria as loans for the renovation or construction of houses.

The FMBN said the disbursements of the funds were meant to ensure that public servants had access to housing loans as contained in Section 14(2) of the National Housing Fund.

The Managing Director, FMBN, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa, who disclosed this while disbursing the funds in Abuja, stated that home renovation loans give existing homeowners access to a maximum of N1m subject to income limit of the beneficiaries and cost of the renovation.

He said partnerships with the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board made the disbursements of the N643m to be possible.

Dangiwa said the N643m was the fifth among the batches so far disbursed, adding that about N1.2bn had been approved and disbursed by the FMBN to 1,347 beneficiaries through the current loan window.

He said, “It is worthy to mention that some of the beneficiaries under this batch have already started receiving alerts for their loan disbursements.

“It may interest you to also know that the total sum of N3.35bn has so far been disbursed to 4,342 beneficiaries across the country, for both federal and state civil servants as well as employees of the organised private sector.”

Dangiwa commended the FGSHLB and the head of the country’s civil service, Winifred Ene-Ita, for the commitment made in providing affordable housing to the civil servants.

In her address, Ene-Ita said if the government could provide adequate housing for public servants, it would significantly reduce the statistics of home deficit in the country.

The Executive Secretary, FGSHLB, Dr. Hanatu Fika, said the increase in affordable homes would reduce cost of rents and eradicate perceived corrupt practices among civil servants.