Naval Chief promises affordable housing for personnel, begins sailors estate in Abuja
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo, has reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Navy to provide affordable housing for both serving and retired personnel of the service.
Gambo gave the assurance on Thursday at the ground breaking of Sailors Homes Estate Kyami, Abuja.
He said the event was another milestone amongst initiatives in the transformation plan articulated for infrastructural development towards effective discharge of navy’s constitutional mandate.
The CNS said that navy is cognisant of the significance of shelter as an essential basic need, which he said, undoubtedly has an influence on operational efficiency.
According to him, the impact of affordable and decent housing to personnel cannot be quantified as it is adjudged a veritable tool for motivation and a morale booster.
“It is in this regard, the Nigerian Navy over the years continued to prioritise home ownership in the hierarchy of its preferences.
“Precisely on Dec. 3, 2022, a similar ground breaking ceremony for the development of 147 houses at Cluster ‘H’ at Admiralty Estate Asokoro Abuja and 150 units of Post Service Housing at the Navy Estate Karshi Phase 3 were conducted.
“In addition, 10 hectares of land in Topo – Badagry, for the development of 237 housing accommodation for Nigerian Navy personnel, serving and retired as well as members of the public was also initiated on Jan. 26, this year in Lagos State.
“Today, we are here on a four out of 10 hectares of land for the construction of houses for Nigerian Navy personnel.
“This initiative of providing affordable houses that has brought us here is through a Memorandum of Understanding between Villa Homes and Construction Limited, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Navy,” he said.
Gambo said the Sailors Homes Estate Kyami would be made of modern and standard infrastructure with smart and functional house designs to enable subscribers select houses of their choice.
He added that the mode of payment would be through mortgage that would be facilitated by the company once all requirements were met.
The Group Managing Director, Navy Holdings Limited, Rear Adm. Samaila Lassa, said that navy recognised that everyone had the right to a standard living accommodation for himself and his family, for good health and wellbeing.
Lassa said it is the understanding that housing is the second most important need of man that the CNS had always keyed into anything that had to do with the welfare.
He said the partnership with Villa Homes was carried out with due diligence as regards experience and capacity of the company and had discussion with the Federal Mortgage Bank.
He said that the Navy came into Abuja hence the reason why the personnel were inadequately accommodated.
According to him, “Navy is one of the least beneficiary despite being a major contributor to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).”
The Managing Director, FMBN, Mr Madu Hamman, represented by the Executive Director, Building Development and Portfolio Management, Mr Kingsley Chukwuma, said the project is aimed at providing affordable housing, particularly to public servants.
Hamman said that several efforts had been made in the past for the public servants to own their personal house, but to no avail.
He said that some of the factors attributed to the failure were bureaucracy, high banking rate and cumbersome process among others.
“This leads to the establishment of National Housing Fund scheme in 2004 with the expectation that the public servants will contribute to the fund, which will qualify them to draw from the housing loan of the Federal Mortgage Bank.
“However, there are still some lacunas that tend to inhibit smooth operation of the scheme.
“Hence, Villa Homes has come up with these innovative ideas to ameliorate the difficulty faced in the smooth operation of the NHF for the betterment of public servants.
“Presently individuals obtain federal mortgage bank loan through the primary mortgage bank which is cumbersome and requires equity contribution which makes it difficult for the off takers to get the loan in contrast the new innovative idea of Villa Homes.
“It simply requires prospective off-takers to subscribe by buying the subscription form and abide by the guideline on the application form without equity contribution.
“The overall aim of this model is to make the process of obtaining federal margin bound law less cumbersome without necessary bureaucracy and elimination of equity contribution from public servants,” he said.
The Managing Director of Villas Home, Mrs Gloria Amabiwendi, said the project is a product of an MoU between VHCL, navy and FMBN.
Amabiwendi said the estate was designed to accommodate 138 units of two and three bedroom flats estate sitting on a 4 out of 10 hectares of land.
She said the estate would be developed in phases for officers and men of the Nigerian navy.
She added that it would be an estate that would boast of world-class modern and standard infrastructures.
