Minister Urges Partnership On Teachers’ Housing Scheme

The Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, in Abuja on Tuesday called for partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank for teachers housing scheme.

Wike made the call at a meeting with officers of the bank, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Teachers Institute (NTI) on how to acquire houses for teachers.

He said that the Federal Government was committed to improving the welfare of teachers through motivation to make them put in their best.

The minister said that the partnership was necessary because the NUT was the direct beneficiaries of the scheme and government was committed to improve their welfare.

According to him, part of this will be to create the enabling environment for teachers to acquire houses before they retire so that they can retire to their own homes.

“We want the bank to work out something that will make them to have houses so that by the time they retire they will know they have some where to put their heads,’’ he said.

He said that he had been briefed on the arrangement between the bank, NUT and the ministry on houses for all teachers, but noted that there “is no concrete documents backing the agreement’’.

He said the project was  laudable and that the government felt that the necessary action needed to be taken.

“We felt that we should call you and put this before you because we need your support, cooperation so that you can form a team that fashion out the modalities.

“This will enable Nigerians to know that President Goodluck Jonathan administration is committed to improving the welfare of teachers in the country.’’

The acting Managing Director of the bank, Mr Newman Odia, commended the ministry for giving them the opportunity to join force in improving the welfare and wellbeing of teachers.

Odia said that the NUT was a major contributor to the National Housing Scheme.

“One way we can support the NUT is for them to identify a project and appointing a developer who will get a land with a title and build the houses for them as a group.

“Like what we are already doing in Bauchi and other states, will be taking off in Ekiti; these are specifically being developed for teachers.

“Once these project are completed we will encourage teachers to come and apply for the National Housing Loan,‘’ he said.

He assured the NUT that the bank would do everything possible to meet the needs and aspiration of teachers in owning a house for themselves.

The General Secretary of NUT, Mr Ikpe Obong, commended the minister for the steps in acquiring houses for all teachers.

Obong said that the NUT and the bank had for long been engaged on the issue of housing for all teachers but there had not been any template on ground to show as an agreement.

“I am impressing on behalf of the union that we really taken off in practical terms but the idea had been a laudable one and we will continue to give the support needed to actualise it.

“Because before we go to our teachers and talk concretely we need all this kind of understanding and Memorandum of Understanding on ground,‘’ he said.

He commended the bank for acknowledging that teachers were one of the major contributors of the National Housing Scheme.

Obong urged the bank to ensure that teachers benefit from the scheme.