Posted by By LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja on
President Umaru Yar'Adua has constituted a multi-sectoral committee comprising the ministers of Finance and Environment and Housing, managing directors of the Federal Mortgage Bank and Federal Housing Authority, as well as the Inspector-General of Police, to look into the problem of accommodation facing officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force across the country.
President Umaru Yar'Adua has constituted a multi-sectoral committee comprising the ministers of Finance and Environment and Housing, managing directors of the Federal Mortgage Bank and Federal Housing Authority, as well as the Inspector-General of Police, to look into the problem of accommodation facing officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force across the country.
At a meeting with the members of the committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, Yar'Adua expressed regret that over 70 per cent of police personnel in the country had no accommodation and directed that something be done urgently to reverse the trend.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, who spoke to the State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, said the committee had been mandated to work out ways in which police personnel could not only be accommodated, but also own their houses as a way of boosting their morale.
He said: 'Housing is one of the issues that makes somebody work harder and it is one of our cardinal policies to ensure that officers and men of the Nigeria Police are accommodated and even empowered to own their own houses.
'Today, the meeting centred on working out modalities on achieving this. We had the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Environment and Housing, the Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank, and that of the Federal Housing Authority. After lengthy discussions, the committee has been mandated to go back and put finishing touches to their decisions, to work out modalities to make this programme workable."
Okiro said the president was moved by the enormity of the accommodation problem of the police and would want the situation ameliorated as soon as possible so that they could concentrate on their work of fighting crime and maintaining law and order in the country.
His words: 'We have over 70 per cent of police men not being quartered. The president is highly moved that policemen, you know that by the nature of our job we are always on the move and you are supposed to be paid transfer allowance in advance, but in reality, there is no such fund to pay from.
'So, they end up living in abandoned buildings and vehicles. Some are living as far as Suleja and working in Abuja . The president was highly moved and would want the solution to be reversed very fast. With the committee already in place, I am sure that as soon as we submit a report, the president will approve it."
On the house ownership being proposed for police personnel, the police boss explained that not all would qualify for it because not all would be eligible to access the FMB loan for the programme, adding that to qualify, one needed to be a subscriber for a number of years.
'The way we are looking at it, not everybody may want to own houses.
Not everybody may be eligible. For you to access loan from the FMB, you may have to be a subscriber for years. Those officers just coming in may have to settle for the barracks and those who have very few years to retire may not be able to repay the loans before retiring. So, this set of people too will continue to live in the barracks," he added.