FG poised to address needs of civil servants

chika ebuzor

December 15, 2015 6:05 AM

She asked members of the committee to deliver on their mandate, adding that the expectations of Nigerians and government on them were high.

President Muhammadu Buhari addresses members of the National Working Committee during the meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party at the headquarters of the party in Abuja, Nigeria July 3, 2015. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Acting Head of the Civil Service of the Federal (HOS), says Federal Government is poised to address the housing needs of civil servants in the country.

She stated this while inaugurating an 11-Man Committee of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme in Abuja on Monday.

"Civil servants deserve quality housing estates like their counterparts in the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police," she said.

She explained that government’s decision to address workers housing challenge was premised on the fact that housing was a basic need/necessity in every society and a prerequisite for motivating workers.

She noted that civil servants were motivated by the provision of staff quarters in the past, ``and this accounted for their diligence, professionalism and high level of productivity.

"The fortune of civil servants in terms of decent accommodation is dwindling, following the abolition of such programme by government.

"Effort by previous administration to engage private developers to address the housing needs of civil servants did not yield positive result.

"This is especially so as civil servants could not afford modest accommodation at the market price charged by developers.’’

Oyo-Ita explained that the FISH programme had been designed to provide cost-effective and affordable houses for various categories of federal civil servants as a means of improving their moral and commitment.

The acting HOS also said that the programme was designed to improve civil servants’ productivity and their quality of life during and after service.

The programme, she added, would motivate and equip civil servants to become efficient, productive, incorruptible and citizen-centred.

chika ebuzor