Head of Service Commissions Federal Housing Center (FISH) and Assures of Its Sustainability
Mohammed Manga, Abuja: The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita has assured the Federal Civil Servants in the country of Government’s commitment to see to the successful and full implementation of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme.
Mrs. Oyo-Ita stated this today in her office in Abuja during the commissioning ceremony of the “FISH Client Centre”, located at the ground floor of Block E, Federal Secretariat Complex phase 11, Abuja.
She said that the Federal Government was determined in not only making FISH programme work, but also putting in place machineries that will sustain it and promised that a comprehensive brochure about the FISH programme will soon be made available free of charge to all applicants to create more awareness on the programme and correct the mis-perceptions of the guidelines and criteria involved before one is eligible to own his own house under the scheme.
The Head of Service said that the Centre has equipped staff on ground that would provide applicants with all relevant and necessary information to guide them on which house to apply for and also inform them of the various developers available on the platform of the programme.
On measures put in place to avoid sharp practices by individuals and estate developers, the Head of Service explained that her office has put in place adequate internal control mechanisms to address any attempt by some organizations or individuals to frustrate the scheme.
Earlier in his address, the Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office, in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and Chairman FISH Implementation Committee, Mr. Yemi Adelakun said that ‘the beneficiaries are expected to contribute not more than one third of their salary monthly and payable directly to the FISH designated mortgage finance institutions to sign on to the programme. This, he said, is after paying a membership fee of N1000 and house allocation processing fee of N1000.
He warned Civil Servants and members of the FISH cooperative to beware of fraudsters demanding money for allocation of the FISH houses, as nobody has been authorized to collect money for the FISH housing programme.
