Rep Urges Reform Of NHF Scheme

A member of the House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Habitat, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, has called for reform of the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme.

Opeyemi, who spoke with our correspondent in Ibadan, said that majority of civil servants want a reform of the initiative due to difficulties in accessing funds.

The legislator said that there was urgent need for reform of the NHF policy to reduce bureaucratic obstacles faced by civil servants.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government in 1992 enacted the policy that mandated workers earning up to N3,000 monthly to contribute 2.5 per cent of their salaries to the NHF.

The concept of the NHF as proposed in the National Housing Policy was to ensure a continuous flow of long-term funding for housing development and to provide affordable loans for low income housing.

The legislator, representing Ado-Ekiti/Irepodun-Ifelodun Federal Constituency, said government could not continue to make deductions against the wishes of its workers.

“I believe that the NHF as a policy cannot be more important than the people. Policies are made for the people and not the people for policies.

“The essence of the policy is to enhance the quality of lives of the citizenry,” Bamidele said.

He added that since Nigerians were stakeholders in the NHF initiative, their views must be taken into account.

“So, I believe definitely it is an area that all of us must work hard to carry out a reform,” Bamidele said.