In a bid to enhance the collaboration between the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and labour unions in the country, the Bank’s top management played host to the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on Thursday, January 18, 2024. The visit was primarily aimed at reaffirming the positives within the context of the organisations’ partnership and identifying and bridging existing gaps for a more beneficial relationship.
Welcoming the delegation, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of FMBN, Mr. Madu Hamman, harped on the importance of the collaboration, highlighting its pivotal role to the Bank’s successes and achievements in delivering affordable housing for Nigerian workers.
“We’ll not be doing our job properly if we do not engage with the various labour centres whose members are the major contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF). Whatever achievements the Bank will make will depend on the types of relationships which we have with the various organisations and we take that seriously.”
The MD expressed the FMBN’s readiness to participate in, and support NECA’s upcoming programmes, especially the Labour Forum coming up in February, which he noted is necessary for learning and exchange of ideas.
Emphasizing the commanding position of housing as a fundamental aspect of human existence, Mr. Hamman introduced FMBN’s upcoming housing projects, the Mega and Mini City projects, currently at the assessment stage, revealing that it was one of the Bank’s largest housing projects, billed to accommodate about 1,500 units of houses in Lagos and Abuja. He hinted that plans were underway to kick-start the project at the end of the first quarter, once approvals are finalized.
He went on to urge the visitors to take advantage of the collaboration and key into the Bank’s initiatives, particularly the upcoming Mega and Mini City projects and the Cooperative Housing Development Loan, which he recalled some staff of NECA had benefited from in the past.
The NECA Director General, Mr. Adewale Oyerinde, expressed appreciation to the FMBN for the collaboration, noting that the Bank “had shown face and good faith in NECA’s programmes, which have deepened the partnership” between the two organisations. “Not all agencies, even when they have a good understanding of their stakeholders, open themselves up to the kind of collaboration that NECA has enjoyed with the FMBN,” he said.
He Intimated the FMBN on NECA’s upcoming programmes, requesting the Bank’s participation and support. He noted that the Labour Forum, which would witness the attendance of the “who-is-who” in the Nigerian Labour ecosystem will be coming up on February 3, 2023, while the third edition of the Employees’ Summit will be held in June.
