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The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the delays and non refund of contributions to the National Housing Funds to retirees by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the National Housing Fund.
The House is also to investigate the activities of the Federal Mortgage Bank and the National Housing Fund with respect to
contributions, remittances from Ministries, Departments and Agencies to the fund.
The House resolution followed a motion on the need to investigate the non-refund of contributions to beneficiaries by the National Housing Fund by the two agencies of government by Rep. Eta Mbora.
Mbora said the National Housing Fund (NHF) was established to mobilize funds to facilitate the provision of affordable housing for employed Nigerians with those earning N3, 000 or more per annum required to contribute 2.5 percent of his or her monthly salary to the NHF.
According to him, the core mandate of the (NHF) is to facilitate the mobilization of funds for the provision of Houses for Nigerians at affordable prices, ensure easy access to loan facilities to Nigerians for building, purchasing of improvement of residential Houses, provide incentives for capital markets to invest in property development and provide long-term loans to Mortgage Institutions for lending to contributors to the fund.
He said further that the National Housing Fund (NHF) Act provides that refund shall be made to contributors who did not obtain a housing loan while in service and should be processed and paid within three (3) months of receipt
of the application for a refund.
He expressed concern that some Ministries, Departments and Agencies do not remit deductions from contributors’ salaries
to Managers of the fund as stipulated by the Act, hence contributors who are mostly civil servants, are often oblivious of remittances made on their behalf while in service until the time of their retirement.
He said retirees who applied to the Federal Mortgage Bank and the National Housing Fund to be refunded have not been attended to in the last three years, resulting in endless delays of refund and non-payment of their
refund.
He said retirees who have invested productive years in the course of their service to the nation deserved a rewarding treatment in getting their contribution to the fund during active years in service as the country does not provide social security welfare for retirees.