Enugu state governor, Peter Mbah has announced government’s plan to build 20,000 housing units with modern facilities for the state civil servants in the next one year.
Mbah said this when he received the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Non-Remittance to the National Housing Fund (NHF) and Utilization of the Funds, which visited him at the Government House, Enugu on Tuesday.
He said that his government was passionate about prioritising the welfare of workers in the state through various incentives, including mass housing.
He gave assurance that his administration would continue to meet its financial commitment toward the welfare and well-being of the people.
“We will not only remit the 2.5 percent to the National Housing Fund, we will also engage the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria for mass housing.
“We have allocated a large expanse of land for mass housing and we are going to construct 20,000 housing units for our workers.
“Our goal is to ensure that workers have access to housing upon retirement,” the governor said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Rep. Dachung Bagos, said the committee was in Enugu to investigate the level of compliance with remittance to the NHF by the state and its utilization.
He said that the NHF Act, 1922, presently under consideration for amendment, “provides that every public worker, including the private sector, is to contribute 2.5 per cent to the fund”.
Bagos lauded the governor for meeting up the financial obligation of the state by remitting the mandatory contributory fund.
He, however, urged the local government councils in the state to emulate the governor’s commendable steps.
He said that the choice of Enugu State as the first for the nationwide tour was predicated on the government’s commitment to the welfare of its workers.
The lawmaker assured the governor that the remittance would inspire them to allocate more housing to the state.
He further urged the governor not to rest on the successes so far recorded by his administration but to do more in ensuring the availability of more housing in the state.
