19th October, 2018
Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has commended the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMB) for the 100 affordable housing units projects for civil servants in Akwa Ibom.
Emmanuel expressed the state government’s gratitude while performing the groundbreaking ceremony of the housing project in Nsit Ibom on Thursday.
The governor said the state was glad to witness the fulfillment of the long-awaited dream of an affordable housing scheme for workers under the FMB housing scheme.
Emmanuel, represented by the state Head of Civil Service (HoS), Mrs Ekereobong Akpan, said the state had been contributing to the National Housing Fund (NHF) since 1995 without anything to show for it.
He stated that the construction of the 100 housing units was in line with his administration’s commitment to providing shelter for workers in the state.
“To this end, my administration has set aside N1 million for each worker under the House Renovation Loan Scheme for Workers in the state,” Emmanuel said.
He commended the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), for choosing Akwa Ibom as one of the pilot states in the South-South for the scheme.
The governor expressed confidence that the project would be completed in eight months.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive of FMB, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, said 1,400 housing units would be delivered across the six geo-political zones of the country, under the first phase of the scheme.
“Each zone will have 200 houses with 100 units in two selected states; Abuja and Lagos are treated as special sites.
”Akwa Ibom is lucky to be one of the two states picked in the South-South geo-political zone largely due to its commitment to the NHF scheme amongst other reasons,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the state Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Akamba Awah, thanked the federal government for choosing the state for the pilot programme.
Akamba gave assurance that workers in the state would partner with FMB to see to the success of the project.
The housing project, under the National Affordable Housing Delivery Programme (NAHDEP), is anchored by the FMB.
It is executed in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), TUC and the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).