30, 258 workers benefit from Federal housing loans -Fika

The Executive Secretary of the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board (FGSHLB), Dr. Hannatu Adamu Fika, has said that a total of 30, 258 public servants have benefited from the federal housing loan programme since its inception in 1924.

Mrs. Fika said this in Abuja at a media chat with journalists on the score card of her 10 years of service and four years of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

According to her, the board, before she assumed office in 2009 as Executive Secretary, gave 12,538 public servants housing loans, over a period of 85 years, while within the last 10 years, under her watch, about 17, 720 public servants were given loan.

“The board from 1954 till date has given loan to 30, 258 beneficiaries. The board has sustainable partnership with private developers for quality affordable social housing for public servants which has led to the commissioning of seven estates in Abuja”, she said.

She said that the board, in order to make obtaining loan more flexible for public servant, had remove the provision of collateral before a loan is given.

“Initially, a public servant must provide a collateral before loan is given but with time, we discovered that this was not good enough. We have translated to the issue of partnering with developers, a civil servant will identify their own developer who the board would work with and monitor to ensure the loan is properly utilized for its purpose,” she said.

While saying that the board had improved loan repayment drive, she said that those that have benefited are captured in the board’s data base.

She said, “No beneficiary would escape loan pay back, even if you escape the board, you would not escape in pension commission as you would need a certificate of clearance from the board.”