Rivers Workers Reject Mortgage Bank Loan …Say It’ll Impoverish Them Further

Civil servants in Rivers State have rejected the N1 million proposed housing renovation loan being packaged by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria for civil servants in the State.
The civil servants in their outburst at a meeting with the State Head of Service in Port Harcourt, Wednesday, were unanimous that the conditions attached to the loan by the bank were too stringent for an average Rivers civil servant to be involved.
In the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Rivers State Government, the civil servants particularly expressed concern with the provision of the MoU which states, amongst others, “that in the event of death of a beneficiary, the proceeds from the Statutory Group Life Assurance Policy in favour of the beneficiary’s estate shall be used to liquidate the outstanding loan amount”.
Another area Rivers workers kicked against was in the event of retirement, loss of job, resignation, change of employment, death or any form of disengagement from service, the outstanding loan balance would be liquidated from the beneficiary’s terminal benefits through the instrumentality of the office of HOS.
Some Rivers civil servants who pleaded anonymity while speaking with The Tide on the sidelines of the meeting, said to accept the credit facility of the Mortgage Bank would amount to further impoverishment of the workers and their dependants.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Head Of Service, Barrister Rufus Godwins has warned civil servants in the state against joining any proposed strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Union (PENGASAN) in the State.
Godwins said that PENGASAN is not a public sector workers union and therefore lacks the right to call out civil servants on strike.
He also said that the present administration in the state has taken far-reaching measures to improve the conditions of civil servants.
According to him, the state government has given approval for the construction of a civil servants estate at the Old refinery road, Akpajo in the Eleme Local Government Area.
The Rivers HOS said that renovation of civil servant quarters at old GRA is on-going while the Produce House along Moscow road behind the State Secretariat Complex is being remodeled to provide conducive offices for Civil Servants.
He said that government has re-constituted the State Pensions Board, while a bill to review the contributory pension law is before the House of Assembly.
Godwins said that his office will not be deterred by the campaign of calumny being orchestrated by some labour leaders in the state.
He also denied report that his office is querying any labour leader in the state, explaining that queries issued to labour leaders were issued to them by their respective Ministries.