According to the
number one policeman, the deduction is to facilitate the floating of a mortgage
bank for the police, which will greatly improve the housing needs of every
police every. The bank will be in every state, since police personnel are wide
spread in the country.
Abubakar who spoke
through the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr. Frank Mba, said that the
N5, 500.00 deductions, from all police personnel last month, was for the benefit
of the personnel.
The floating of
the police mortgage bank became necessary after policemen had repeatedly been
disappointed and frustrated by National Housing Fund (NHF) in acquisitions of
loans to rent, buy or build a house.
The N5, 500.00
deductions, which will run for only two months, will make every policemen,
shareholder in the bank, thus entitle to a share certificate, loans and
dividends. The loan will be expected to assist any policeman to have a home of
his own.
Last week, after police received their
salaries, they had embarked on protest, alleging that since Abubakar assumed
office, he had cultivated the habit of deducting from their salary.
They revealed that the first time, was when he
deducted N1000 from all policemen’s salary, insisting that it was for Police
Games. The latest is the N5, 500.00 deductions, which is present generating a
lot of acrimony.
Few days after the deduction, they were all
issued the Fokas forms by their superior
officer, which was for the procurement of Fokas Savings and Loans Limited
shares.
Mba said: “Loans
from the Federal Mortgage Bank can only be accessed through established
Mortgage Banks otherwise called Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs). The
Nigeria Police Force subscribed to the National Housing Fund during the
Administration of IGP Ibrahim A. Coomassie, in the year 1994 with deduction of
NHF contributions from officers and remittance of same to the FMBN. This
led to the establishment of the NHF Desk within the Force to
harmonize/reconcile deductions and remittances.
“The Nigeria Police
Force remains the highest contributor to the Federal Mortgage Bank! As at date,
contributions by Police officers to the NHF and remittances to the FMBN total
approximately N8billion. Unfortunately, the Nigeria Police Force has not
benefited from the facilities available at the FMBN under the NHF Act while
other Agencies and Corporate groups benefit from huge contributions of
Policemen.
“Why? Because the
Nigeria Police Force could not float a Mortgage Bank to easily access the
required loans for its officers and men. Efforts of the Nigeria Police Force
over the years, to establish a Mortgage Bank had been stalled by Administrative
instabilities generally occasioned by frequent leadership changes. Apart from
other technicalities and statutory requirements by the Central Bank of Nigeria
and other Regulatory Agencies, the capitalization sum of N2.5 Billion for one
State branch or N5B for a National Branch is required before a Mortgage Bank
can be licenced. Considering the interests of the Police in accessing its huge
contributions to the NHF, an entirely owned Mortgage Bank is needed to
maximally protect the long-term housing initiative for generations of
officers/men and even retirees.”
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