They told newsmen in separate interviews that from their experiences, the processes of securing housing loans, supposedly meant for them, being contributors to the fund, needed to be reappraised.
He said it was worrisome that the impact of the scheme had not been felt by most of its contributors. “In the past, many workers would not have had their own houses, if not for the scheme. I have a superior, who retired from the service this year, but without benefiting from the scheme.“It should not be only for the civil servants that are in Abuja or those connected to decision makers that should benefit from the scheme.
According to him, the Act mandates Nigerian workers, commercial banks, insurance companies and the Federal Government to contribute to the NHF Scheme. A building and housing expert, Julianah Samson, said the scheme was meant to facilitate funds for Nigerians to own affordable houses, by ensuring loans for contributors to build, purchase or renovate their houses.“In spite of the laudable intention of the scheme, it has been fraught with different challenges; ranging from documentation problem, low financial inputs by the contributors and the bureaucratic bottlenecks around the disbursement of funds.
Commenting, Sola Abegunde, a civil servant, lauded the scheme, describing participation in the scheme as quite beneficial to both employers and employees in many aspects. “One key issue affecting housing delivery in Nigeria is that the level of housing shortage has not been adequately presented.