Almost 10% of the Policemen in Nigeria have Access to Housing – Cooperative Mortgage Bank CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Cooperative Mortgage Bank Ltd., Femi Adewole, has disclosed that of the about 340,000 policemen in the country, only about 30,000 are housed.

He stated this at the maiden edition of the Nigeria Police Housing Summit with the theme “Renewed Hope for Police Housing in Nigeria”, held recently in Abuja.

He called for an affordable housing policy framework that would be transparent enough and benefit members of the force.

The summit, which would be held annually, was conceived as a platform to discuss ideas to actualise the vision of accessible and affordable housing for officers of the Nigerian Police.

He said that a clear plan that must include a long-term structure should be put in place to enable the police to overcome their housing challenge.

The former Family Homes Fund MD added that affordability of the houses must also be put in place, noting that 70 per cent of the members of the police were on very low income.

“We have about 340,000 policemen, and only about 30,000 of them are housed today. So, we have about 300,000 to go. Even if we build 10,000 houses each year, it will take us 30 years to meet the need, and that is assuming the police don’t increase in number. So, there must be a plan for now and in the future.

“Also, the plan must be clear as to how we are going to pay for these houses. So, they should have a clear financing plan behind it. When you have a plan and you don’t know where you are going to pay for it, it makes you dream.”

According to Adewole, there should be a plan that would specify how payment would be made, where the money would come from, and when it would come.

“The plan must also ensure we have affordable housing because 70 per cent of the members of the police are on very low income. Therefore, this housing must be accessible to those of them earning low wages.

“The plan needs to be clear as to how we are going to house those people. The plan must have some clear leadership and accountable leadership: who is responsible for this, who gets the praise when it works, and who gets their heads chunked off when it is not working?

“We need to be serious about it. It also has to be transparent so that we can measure how well they are doing. If it is transparent, we can correct ourselves and recalibrate the plan, but if it is secret or crowded with secrecy, then we have no chance to amend the plan when we need to,” he advised.

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Integrated Social Housing Cooperative Society Limited, Dr Yemi Adelakun, stated that the comfort of police officers would translate into better policing in the country.

According to Adelakun, housing for the police is crucial not just for the officers, but for the broader community.

He highlighted that well-motivated and happy officers would contribute to public safety, whereas an unhappy force may not yield favourable outcomes for the community.

He said, “I can assure you that with the kind of strength put behind this programme, it is going to be a success. Housing police is not about the police themselves; it is about us. If they (police) are well motivated, they will do a good job. If they are happy, we are all secure, but if they are not, we are not secure.

“This is why experts in the sector are using our strength to support it so that it gets the will to be delivered and is not going to be another project undelivered.”

Earlier in his address, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, noted that, in line with the renewed hope agenda of the President, providing affordable and fit-for-purpose shelter during and after service was essential.

“The housing capacity of the force is about 10-12 per cent of the over 400,000 workforce due to long years of neglect,” he asserted.

He explained that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that more programmes prioritising the improvement of the living standards of police officers were implemented.

Meanwhile, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria has said it would provide N100bn in off-taker guarantees to support affordable homeownership for Nigerians through the 100,000-housing unit Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme.