By Favour Nnabugwu

The Federal Government had officially settled for Brains & Hammers, an indigenous estate developer, to deliver houses for civil servants in the country with a pilot scheme of 1,000 units for completion in six months under the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme.

FISH is an initiative of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF)

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, told newsmen in Abuja yesterday, that the unit of houses to be delivered by the estate developer would be of good quality and at affordable prices to civil servants.

Oyo-Ita said that housing development would contribute to the development of national economy through the generation of employment in the building and allied industries and its attendant increase in financial intermediation and economic activities.

“To address the nagging issues of housing gaps especially for federal civil servants, my office conceptualized the FISH programme to provide cost effective and affordable housing for various categories of workers as a means to uplift their moral, commitment, stewardship and quality of life during and after service,” she said.

Oyo-Ita noted that most civil servants lived in slumps, especially in the FCT and other major cities since they could not afford decent houses because of the cost yet they were the major contributors to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

She remarked that civil servants should be the first beneficiaries of mortgage loans at a reduced interest rate to enable them purchase houses.

She said there was a Inter-Ministerial committee comprising Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Power, Works & Housing; Water Resources, Finance, the Federal Capital Territory and the HoCSF to oversee provisions of necessary infrastructure within the housing units in order to reduce the cost per unit.

While stating what his company has in stock under the FISH programme, the chairman of Brains & Hammers, Mr. Adebola Sheidu assured that he would deliver the first batch of housing units in six months with a price range of one bedroom for N5m, two bedrooms, N7m; three bedrooms, N10.5m and four bedrooms at N17.5m.

He however stated that the unit price could go down further if the ministries provided the needed infrastructure such as land, power, water and roads.

He also informed that the company had made provision for 72 hectares of land near Life Camp, Abuja that would occupy 3,000 units with hospital, water parks, church, mosque and a commercial area for businesses etc.