Fidelia Okafor

Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Richard Esin, has pleaded with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to release about 16 containers of building materials meant for its housing project in Abuja.

Speaking when he visited the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), Esin disclosed that the containers, which are awaiting clearance at the ports, have accumulated demurrage to the tune of N171 million. He said the release of the containers would enable the bank continue with the housing projects the building materials are meant for.

The mortgage bank’s MD also appealed to the NCS for assistance in enforcing compliance with the provisions of the National Housing Fund Act, by any business entity, private or public, seeking or doing business with it. He said that the FMBN had funded the construction of an estate for officers of the NCS in Kuje, Abuja.

He lauded the service for its full compliance with NHF remittance and urged the officers to take advantage of the construction of 95 estates by the FMBN across the country to become homeowners.

Responding, Ali commended the role the FMBN had played in facilitating home ownership for officers of the service, promising to look into the issues discussed.