By Olamilekan Lartey

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria said on Monday that it had lost about N100bn to corruption by employers of labour, who failed to remit contributions to the National Housing Fund.

The Managing Director, FMBN, Mr. Gimba Ya’U Kumo, said this while appealing to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe the failure of government agencies to remit deductions to the NHF.

Kumo said 3.6 million registered contributors to the fund had swelled it coffers to the tune of about N72bn as at June 30, 2011.

He said the bank could not deliver on its mandate of providing funds for affordable homes in the country because of the violation of the NHF Act by employers across the country.

By the provisions of the NHF Act, employers are expected to deduct 2.5 per cent of the basic salary of each worker every month and remit it to the FMBN within 30 days.

“The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, we will like to use this opportunity to bring to your attention that the biggest challenge of the NHF, as a laudable scheme to provide affordable mass housing to low and medium income Nigerians, is the flagrant violation of the NHF Act by a number of employers,” Kumo said.

The FMBN boss said some employers often cited illegal directives from labour unions as an excuse of not remitting the monthly deductions to the NHF as required by Section 9 (1) of the NHF Act.

He said others were diverting the deductions to other uses that were not in anyway related to housing needs of workers.

“To supplement our efforts, we use this opportunity to solicit partnership with the EFCC in the enforcement of the provisions of the NHF Act by employers of labour in the public and private sectors. They are required by law to effect the deduction of 2.5 per cent from workers’ monthly income and remit to FMBN within 30 days of such deductions,” he said.

Earlier, the FMBN had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the commission to facilitate the provision of affordable houses for the operatives of the EFCC.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, said the pact would boost the welfare and morale of the staff.

Speaking at the event, Waziri said the MoU was an important milestone aimed at boosting the welfare of workers of the EFCC, adding that staff welfare had always been a major concern for the leadership of the commission.

She said the MoU was not only a fulfilment by the FMBN of its statutory obligation, but should be seen as the bank’s contribution to the anti-corruption work of the EFCC.

Kumo, who commended Waziri for making staff welfare an important item of her administration, explained that his bank believed that the housing agenda was an effective tool in the fight against corruption.

Source: Punch