Housing: NLC Assures On Security Of Deposits

The Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) has assured workers and subscribers of the security of their deposits for the NLC-Kristone-Lally Housing Project in Abuja.
In a statement by the  President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar  in Abuja last Wednesday he said the congress was doing everything possible to protect and secure the interests of the subscribers despite an alleged scam in the housing projects.
Omar said, “in its bid to promote workers’ welfare, the congress went into understanding with a number of developers to provide affordable housing for workers, one of such understandings was with Kristone –Lally with whom congress signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
He said, “based on this MoU and subsequent advertisement, a large number of workers subscribed to the project under the MoU, Kristone-Lally was to build specified housing types at agreed prices. The funding of the project was to be provided by financiers from abroad whom Kristone-Lally had identified.”
The President said NLC was on its part to ensure that there were off-taken of the housing units by mobilizing workers to subscribe by paying to per cent of the price of desired house type stressing that NLC was happy with the overwhelming response of Nigerian workers to the advertisement of subscription to the housing project.
He said that on the 4th of October 2013, NLC decided that further subscription and collection of money be stopped to enable the project consolidate and deliver the first phase of houses to those who had subscribed within the agreed timeframe of December 2014, adding that the congress’ decision was served on and acknowledged by Kristone-Lally.
Omar said that, “congress became worried as the take –off of the project kept on being delayed,” adding that due to the delay, a number of subscribers applied for a refund of their deposits.
He explained that in the process of processing the application for refunds, the officials of NLC encountered a bank teller which showed that a subscriber had paid the initial deposit into an account other than the advertised NLC-Kristone-Lally EPC account.
According to the NLC boss, NLC found this development disturbing because NLC in order to guarantee the safety of workers’ deposits had insisted on being joint signatory with the MD of Kristone-Lally.
Omar assured all workers who subscribed to the housing project that their funds  are safe and secure.