The SERVICOM Presidency, after an assessment exercise on the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), has tasked the mortgage institution on innovative ways to bring the cost of houses built within the reach of the targeted customers who are largely low-income earners in the civil service.
Speaking, Monday, the National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Mrs. Nnenna Akajemeli, said the overall objective of the SCER exercise is to ensure that citizens focus on service delivery in Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), noting that “this includes the identification of gaps in service delivery and making recommendations to MDAs to improve customer satisfaction and accountability.
“In the course of our SCER exercise, more than 60 percent of the respondents complained that houses built are very expensive and beyond the reach of the low-income group,” she added.
While giving an account of SCER on FMBN, Akajemeli commended the bank for being responsive to its statutory mandates to satisfy Nigerians in areas of regular sensitisation and enlightenment programmes on Channels TV twice a week.
She said the initiative had gone a long way to enlighten customers and address key issues concerning National Housing Fund (NHF).
“The FMBN management has made it easy for customers to obtain up-to-date information on NHF and other facilities. These are published in the Bank’s Bulletin and website,’’ she added.
Commenting on branches nationwide, Akajemeli said the Oyo branch is the first to bring in the informal sector in the country, adding that quite a large number of cooperative societies have been mobilised and enlightened to help provide housing units for more Nigerians.
The SERVICOM boss however spoke on the lapses in the FMBN’s services to include selling forms that are supposed to be free to customers at the rate of N25, 000 in Adamawa and N7, 000 in Bauchi states, respectively.
She, therefore, appealed to the management to address those lapses so as to ensure continuous improvement in the quality of services rendered to their customers.
Responding, the Managing Director FMBN, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa commended the SERVICOM management team for its diligence on service delivery.
While clarifying some of the evaluation reports, Dangiwa pledged to address some of the weaknesses pointed out by SERVICOM.
