NIA, NMRC declare support for FISH

The Nigerian Institute of Architects, NIA and The Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company, NMRC have both pledged their support for the Federal Integrated Staff Housing programme (FISH), put in place to address the housing deficit of civil servants in the country.

The President, NIA, Tonye Braide promised that the institute would participate in the FISH programme by expanding on the ideas postulated therein.

“What may be needed could be the adjustment to meet a Nigerian Operating model in addition, the institute can also provide value added services to assist with bulk purchase/procurement, insurance management, and information services and supply chain management.”

Similarly, his counterpart at the NMRC, Prof. Charles Iyangete, the Managing Director, has pledged that his organisation will partner in delivering an innovative as well as constructive mortgage financing of affordable houses to civil servants, while he also revealed that the memorandum of understanding entered with his organisation, will enable them and other relevant agencies partnering in the FISH Programme, to ensure that the housing deficit experienced by public servants are resolved within the best possible time.

The FISH programme, an initiative of the President Mohammadu Buhari led Federal Government, anchored by the office of the federal civil service of the federation, entered into partnerships with ten primary mortgage bankers to facilitate prompt processing of mortgage applications with Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

The scheme was designed by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation in 2016 to alleviate the housing challenges experienced by civil servants in Abuja and other state capitals of the nation and administered through an inter-Ministerial Committee comprising Pertinent Secretaries, Managing directors, Directors-General, Executive Secretaries and other officials of government

Earlier, the Chairman of FISH Committee and Permanent Secretary, Common Services in the office of the Head of service, Yemi Adelakun said the major problem facing the programme includes difficulties to allocation and acquisition of land from the federal and state governments, provision of infrastructures at minimal and subsidized costs, additional sources of funding for construction and mortgages at single digit interest rates among others.