Seventy civil servants under the Federal Integrated Staff Housing, FISH Programme has been allocated houses by the office of the Civil Service of Nigeria.
Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita allocated the houses to the beneficiaries in Abuja, as part of the 2017 Civil
Service week celebration.
Global celebration
“As you all know the Civil Service Week is a global celebration of the efforts of the Public/Civil Service all over the world to the socio-economic development of their respective countries. Today we have issued keys to 30 beneficiaries under the FISH program at Kurudu and issued 250 Civil Servants renovation loans under the Federal Government Staff Housing Loan Board FGSHLB home renovation scheme,” Mrs. Oyo-Ita explained.
She said the service has recorded milestones in the past years.
“ We would recall, the Ag. President Launched the 2017-2019 strategic Plan for the Service on the 28h of February 2017. I am pleased to inform you that the plan was approved by Federal Executive Council and through the intervention and support of His Excellency, the Ag. President, the implementation of the Strategy has been reviewed and aligned with the national 2017-2020 Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Nigerian Government. In summary, the 2017-2020 Strategy for Civil Service development has been reprioritised,” the head of the service stated.
Best in Africa
Mrs. Oyo-Ita also described the Nigerian Civil servants as the best and most educated in Africa.
“Let me seize this opportunity to affirm my confidence in the Civil Service. Contrary to insinuations and criticisms against the Service, the Nigerian Civil Service has some of the best and echoing the confidence this administration responses to us, the Ag. President unequivocally stated that Nigeria has the best and most educated Civil Service in Africa. You would all agree that Nigerians have excelled in every field of human endeavor. We should be proud. The civil service is no exception. They are people who have given their entire lives for the Service of this nation and today we celebrate them,” she said.
According to her, government has put in place measures to ensure that civil servants are well trained and
adequately provided with the right tools for effective service delivery.
The Head of Service also enjoined Media to be objective in their reportage and offer constructive advice to the Service in order to provide an efficient service to the citizens.
The Executive Secretary, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, Dr. Hannatu Adamu Fika, said that allocation of houses, as well as the sensitization and presentation of payment mandates of home renovation loans for the eligible public servants, showed further the commitment of the Government to the promotion of welfare program for its teeming workforce.
“Housing loans schemes in the public or private sector remain the most veritable social welfare program for its citizens especially public servants in the employment of the Nigerian Government,” the Executive Secretary said.
Dr. Fika said addressing the mortgage needs of the Federal Public Servants would not only reduce the burden of payment of rents to landlords annually but would eradicate the perceived corrupt practices amongst the workforce and serve as a source of motivation for workers to drive the administration’s war against corruption.
The Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Architect Ahmed Dangiwa said one of the major functions of the bank was the management of the National Housing Fund.
“The overall objective is to provide a cheap source of loanable funds to nurture and sustain the mortgage industry and eventually facilitate affordable home ownership for the low and medium income group in Nigeria, ” Mr. Dangiwa added.
– Confidence Okwuchi I NAN
