The Kogi State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have urged Governor Yahaya Bello-led administration to subsidise housing loans for the state workers.

The state’s NLC and TUC chairmen, Onuh Edoka and Tijani Ahmed, made the call in separate interviews on Monday in Lokoja, the state capital.

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), in collaboration with NLC/TUC/NECA, had, on January 26, inaugurated 100 housing units for civil servants in the state.

Mr Edoka, represented by his vice, Opaluwa Eleojo, also urged the governor to take advantage of FMBN’s various housing schemes for the benefit of the state workers.

He noted that past administrations, since the state’s creation, provided housing estates for workers.

“But for seven years running now, this administration has not been able to provide housing for state’s workers.

“So, the organised labour unions want the state government to cash in on this opportunity to acquire the FMBN housing scheme and give it to workers.

“The estate should be named after him as ‘Yahaya Bello Housing Estate’ or ‘Yahaya Bello Workers Village’ in Kogi.”

According to him, the FMBN is meant to provide housing for Nigerian workers, and it is the workers’ contribution that has made the bank to be what it is today.

“So, we don’t expect anything less than 100 per cent of the occupants of this FMBN/NKC/TUC/NECA housing estate to be workers; that is our position,” he said.

The unions also advised that if the state government could not build housing estate for workers as proposed, it should subsidise the price of the FMBN Housing estate for the workers.

He explained that a one-bedroom flat in the newly-inaugurated housing estate was as high as over N5 million, saying it was significantly out of the reach of an average worker in the state.

“So, we are expecting the state government to subsidise housing estate by at least 50 per cent, as the government’s contribution to the workers’ housing needs in the state. The workers will pay the remaining 50 per cent,” he said.

On his part, the state TUC boss also appealed to the state government to build an estate for workers, saying it would go a long way to help them acquire affordable housing.

Mr Ahmed further stressed the need for the governor to partner with the FMBN to build a housing estate, which would be named after him as part of his legacy projects in the state.

He urged the government to subsidise the newly-commissioned FMBN/NLC/TUC/NECA housing estate for the workers.

“This is the message of the labour unions to the state government, which includes NLC and TUC,” he said.

The inaugurated housing estate comprises 20 units of one-bedroom, 40 units of two-bedroom and 40 units of three-bedroom semi-detached bungalows. 

(NAN)