...Back off project commissioning
The leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria in Ebonyi has raised alarm over the alleged allocation of the government workers' housing estate to alleged politicians and unidentified individuals who are not working in any government establishment in the state.
Our correspondent learnt that about 90 houses of three-bedroom flats were built for government workers in Ebonyi State and the official commissioning of the building project by Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State was supposed to take place on Thursday.
However, the State TUC members had backed off the already scheduled event, alleging negligence and wrong allotment process by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the project developer of the housing project.
Briefing journalists in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State Chairman of the TUC, Comrade Chidi Igboji explained that the affordable housing delivering project was powered by Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union and Nigeria Employees' Consultative Association.
He alleged that the buildings have been allotted to unknown people who are allegedly not working in any government establishment in Ebonyi State by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the project developer.
Igboji said the members of the TUC regretted the negligence of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the developer of the house project especially when they found out that some politicians alleged connived with the developer, just to disengage the supposed beneficiaries in the state.
He further expressed dismay over the non-accommodation of the TUC members in the housing allocation and allotment processes, even when an encouraging amount of money had been deducted from their bank accounts.
Also, speaking, the State Secretary of the Union, Comrade Vincent Nwogbodo called for the immediate intervention of the state and federal governments to ensure that the actual targetted workers on which the housing project was meant become the beneficiaries.
"Nobody has to have the haircut of another in his absence. The housing project was powered in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Labour of Congress, Trade Union Congress and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association but the allocation was done without our knowledge and none of the TUC members was captured."
Nwogbodo said that the TUC members in the state have demanded the list of the beneficiaries but up to date, it was not been made available to them to know those the buildings were allotted to, amid the alleged impersonation and negligence of the targeted workers.
The TUC members who boycotted the commission further appealed to Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and President Muhammad Buhari to stop the alleged calculated strategy by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the developer of the housing project to deny them getting access to the buildings, proposing to employ every legal means to reclaim their rights after reaching their National headquarters.
NATIONAL PANEL also gathered that
the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC in Ebonyi State on the same Thursday petitioned the federal government over alleged fraud and illegal selling of housing estates meant for workers to politicians by the said Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.
The NLC leadership and other affiliate unions reportedly staged a walkout from the commissioning of the housing estate project, located at Ugwuahara in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
The State Chairman of NLC, Ikechukwu Nwafor who protested the alleged fraud rocking the housing estate project, tasked Governor David Umahi to shun the commissioning, adding that, the sale of the housing estate to non-workers should be revised.
“Ebonyi State government has done well for the first time by donating land for the housing estates to be built for the workers. But for the housing estates to be built and sold to non-workers and indigenes who are not from Ebonyi state is unfortunate.
“Workers of Ebonyi State have been contributing through the national housing fund, which is being handled by mortgage bank PLC. Some of us have contributed for 23, 20 and 16 years to this housing estate project.
“Workers in Ebonyi State are not happy and what the mortgage bank PLC did should be queried, and the process should be revised to make sure that Ebonyi workers were able to access the facility," Nwafor said.
The NLC leadership, however, called for the immediate intervention of the Federal government, especially the Federal Ministry of Housing, asking that the mortgage bank and the developer, be called to order.
"The federal ministry of Housing should call Mortgage bank PLC and the developer, COPEN services limited led by Ugochukwu Chime to order.
“We were told by the mortgage bank PLC that it was the developer, COPEN services limited that sold it and that they are not aware of whom they sold it to” the association lamented," the NLC Boss added.
In a swift reaction, the Federal Mortgage Bank PLC, who spoke to journalists in Abakaliki, through the Managing Director, Mr Kingsley Chukwuma denied knowledge of the allegation, stressing that the housing estate in Ugwuahara was allocated to people that are qualified and have completed the payment.
“The allegation is not true, because we intended to carry everybody along. This is because workers from all the states of the Federation are the direct beneficiaries of this project," Chukwuma said.
