Group Tasks FG On Pension Funds

Worried by the series of reports that the mandatory Pension Funds have not been properly managed over the years so as to give the intended beneficiaries the reward envisaged at the end, a group, the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN), has called on the federal government to inject at least 25 percent of the fund to low-cost housing development.

AHCN  maintains that steps will not only give hope to those who contribute to the funds, especially workers who will go on retirement, the possibility of owning their own homes, but will also create a sustained level of economic multiplier effect, as such percentage of the fund is regularly utilised in housing.

The group who came up with this resolution at the end of its meeting recently in Owerri, the Imo State Capital, observed that the existing funding arrangement for the provision of housing in Nigeria is inadequate to meet the yearnings of the masses.

They called on the Federal Government to set aside 25 percent of the Pension Fund through bonds for housing development, as well as the recapitalisation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

The group stated that the increasing rate of defaults on Estate Development loans, which was attributed to bureaucracy, is associated with the loan, and neglect of market trends, especially the inflationary trend.

AHCN identified poor funding as one of the major set backs in housing development in Nigeria, and calls for the implementation of effective programmes of action and appropriate framework for future housing programmes.