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Insurance firms under prober over unremitted N267b workers’ NHF

Abuja, Aug. 30, 2023: The House of Representatives Ad hoc committee investigating non-remittance to the National Housing Fund (NHF) and utilisation of the funds from 2011 has summoned concerned Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of insurance companies.

This is to explain the reason for over N267 billion unremitted workers investment in NHF only for the year 2019.

Rep. Dachung Bagos, the Chairman of the committee issued the summon following their failure to appear before the committee in Abuja on Tuesday to explain the unremitted fund.

He said the insurance companies should come and explain why they are still owing over N267 billion of workers investment to NHF in 2019.

He said the National Insurance Commission (NICON) must show proof of insurance companies who were in default of remitting workers investment to Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

He said the insurance companies should come along with all the amount they had remitted to FMBN, adding that they should also provide evidence of sanctions to those who had defaulted.

According to him, in 2019 alone 54 insurance companies have not remitted N267 billion.

“They need to tell us where the money is. This figure does not include 2020 to 2023.

“We have the law but we are not working with the law rather we complain on a daily basis, ” he said.

Dachung said the 10th House of Representatives will address the issue, adding that all the concerned CEOs must appear by Sept. 5.

Contributing, Rep. Kama Nkemkanma (LP-Ebonyi), a member of the committee said: “what we are talking about here involves billions of unremitted money, I will want us to be more serious.

He called on the CEOs of insurance companies to appear rather than sending their subordinates, saying that there was the need to get to the bottom of the problem.

Rep. Timilehin Adelegbe (APC-Ondo), also a member of the committee said the issue of non remitance of workers NHF contribution was not something to joke with.

He said: “for any outstanding unremitted fund, the CEOs should be held responsible and if they failed by next hearing, we will publish their names.

AFRICA

IPPIS fails to remit workers N26.6bn NHF in 2 years

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Abuja, Aug. 24, 2023 (NAN) The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) says the Integrated Personal Payrol information System (IPPIS) failed to remit N26.6 billion of workers contributory funds in two years.

Mr Madu Hamman, Managing Director of FMBN, said this on Thursday in Abuja while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad hoc committee probing the non-remittance to the National Housing Fund (NHF) and Utilisation.

According to him, from October to December 2022 there were 40 per cent unremitted payments to FMBN resulting from revenue drive by the Federal Government and a total of N11.630 billion was involved.

“From January to December 2022, N11.587 billion was not remitted as backlog payments for MDAs from IPPIS, while N3. 356 billion was not remitted from April to July 2021 as outstanding failed payments for 2021 from IPPIS,” he said.

Hamman explained that some NHF payments meant to be paid to FMBN as housing contributions had been wrongly made into the Federal Government Loan and Scholarships Board, adding that 14 MDAs were affected by the wrong payments.

He said all contributors were eligible for a full refund of their contribution over the years including accrued interest of 2 per cent upon retirement.

Others, he said, were by attainment of 60 years or inability to continue due to incapacitation or death, adding that FMBN had refunded N66.678 billion to 444,637 beneficiaries.

Speaking on projects executed through various means, Hamman said, FMBN ensured it gave loans to register members of the association of developers.

He said that FMBN also had the regular primary mortgage bank from interested individuals where it disbursed N139.6 billion to 24,332 beneficiaries.

On the ministerial pilot scheme, he said the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing provided land for those on the scheme and it had spent N38 billion to build 5,443 units of housing.

Reacting to the allegations, Mr Ekwem Dem, Deputy Director, IPPIS in the Office of the Accountant General said, ” On our own part, we are just hearing some of these allegations.”

He said, for instance, the ‘no work no pay’ for members of ASUU remittances was still hanging, adding that there was a need for a reconciliation window, “so we can see the area of convergence”

Rep. Dachung Bagos, the Chairman of the Committee, said it would go on oversight of some of the projects claimed to have been executed by FMBN and where they were located.

“We are going to do some random checks to see the utilisation of this work, we are going to oversight all these projects

” We need to know why the Nigerian civil servants are not given what is due to them, even if we have to go with a tricycle; we will go.

” Some of us are engineers. We are going to receive some of these things, we must get value for our naira and Nigerians must get value for their money,” the chairman said.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened  to pull out civil servants from the NHF contributory funds over the non-remittance of deductions made.

President of NLC, Joe Ajaero made the threat while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Non-Remittance to the NHF and Utilisation of the Funds from 2011 till Date.

According to Ajaero FBN had refused to send alerts of how much civil servants have contributed including their monthly deductions.

He urged the lawmakers to take drastic steps to remove the encumbrances to affordable and quality housing to millions of Nigerians especially workers who make the most contributions to the NHF.

This according to him is as identified in the memorandum and other memoranda submitted to the committee.

He said that the immediate past Managing Director of FMBN Mr Ahmed Dangiwa who is now the Minister of Housing and Urban Development said he left behind N120 billion in the coffers of

the bank.