Housing scheme: Don’t go on strike yet, Reps beg NLC, TUC

By Umar Puma.

Labour unions have threatened to embark on industrial action soonest, if the federal government fails to reverse its decision to establish the Federal Mortgage Refinancing Bank as well as stop reneging on the payment of 90 percent counterpart funding into the contributory housing scheme for 100,000 units of houses.

Accordingly, the House of Representatives Committee on Finance has pleaded with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to shelve its plan to embark on nationwide industrial action over the federal government’s frustration of the 100,000 units housing scheme.

The labour unions, who petitioned the House Committee on Finance following complaints that the federal government has reneged on its payment of 90 percent required funds into contributory purse for the construction of the housing scheme, vowed to embark on strike action to press home their displeasure with the government.

In a joint complaint before the committee, the NLC and the TUC observed that though workers had willingly contributed and were hoping to get their housing predicament assuaged, the federal government tended to have increased their burden and anxious care with the imposition of additional 10 percent rate on the initial six on the mortgage.

The NLC president, Abdulwaheed Omar, said the establishment of the Federal Mortgage Refinancing Bank-which is a private enterprise- to refinance the mortgaged housing scheme, was not only a misplaced priority but “visionless because one has to have mortgage before you can talk of refinancing”.

Omar said the government had, as part of its transformation agenda, introduced the scheme, where 100,000 units of houses were to be built throughout the country, with the initial 20,000 proto-type in Abuja and Lagos respectively, but that instead of allowing the Federal Mortgage Bank to take care of the mortgage, it chose to bring in a private body to assume that responsibility.

“The refinance mortgage is misplaced because there should first be mortgage before one talks of refinancing. Besides, the mortgage will be driven by market forces meaning that it will be completely out of the reach of the workers,” Omar said, stressing that government should have serious rethink otherwise the workers would have no option but to paralyse the already battered economy by going on strike.

Though the Chairman of the Committee, Jibrin Abdulmumimin, said the reasons for the refinancing of a non-existing mortgage does not hold water, he pleaded with the labour unions to exercise some patience pending the conclusion of wider consultations with stakeholders.

He threatened to issue bench warrant for the arrest of Managing Director of Federal Mortgage Refinancing Bank as well as the chairman of SURE-P who failed to show up at the hearing. They were however given up till Tuesday next week to appear before the committee. Meanwhile, the committee has directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to convene a meeting with the labour unions, FMB, FMRB, SURE-P, between Monday and Wednesday next week, to address sundry issues on the mortgage scheme.