Oyo-Ita assures on sustainability of FISH scheme

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, has allayed fears of Nigerians concerning the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) scheme,  re-assuring them of its sustainability.

She  gave the assurance in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by Mr Mohammed Manga, Assistant Director (Media Relations), Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

Oyo-Ita was quoted in the statement as saying  that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to make the FISH programme work.

According to her, machineries that will sustain the programme are already in place as the present administration wants to address the housing deficit of public servants for efficient service delivery.

“A comprehensive brochure about FISH programme will soon be made available free of charge to all applicants to create more awareness on the programme and correct the misconceptions of the guidelines and criteria involved.

“We have also put in place stringent measures with adequate internal control mechanisms to address any attempt by estate developers or individuals to frustrate the scheme.

“It is in line with this that we recently commissioned the “FISH Client Centre” with equipped staff on ground to provide applicants with all relevant and necessary information,’’ the statement quoted Oyo-Ita as saying.

She called on stakeholders to continue to support the Federal Government in its resolve to address the housing challenges facing Nigerians and  federal civil servants in particular.

Meanwhile, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), has pledged to support the scheme and partner with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

Dangiwa said that his office had started processing the application forms of  federal civil servants who have applied for houses under the programme.

He said that the partnership would ensure sustainability of the housing scheme to address the housing challenge faced by the civil servants for improved productivity and service delivery to Nigerians.