Bayelsa Government Threatens Withdrawal from National Housing Scheme Over 'Missing' Billions in Civil Servant Contributions
Bayelsa Threatens Exit from National Housing Scheme Over Unutilized Billions
The Bayelsa State Government has issued a sharp ultimatum to the operators of the National Housing Scheme (NHS), warning it will withdraw its entire civil service workforce if the scheme is not immediately restructured to benefit state workers. The government expressed alarm that civil servants have been consistently contributing "billions" of naira since 2007, with zero housing units constructed for them in the state.
The announcement signals a significant escalation in the tensions between state governments and federal housing agencies regarding the utilisation of contributory funds.
Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, delivered the warning during a meeting with the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) in Yenagoa. His key concern centres on the financial imbalance:
“It is economically illogical to have billions accumulated in the Scheme while no progress is being made to construct the houses intended for civil servants,” the Deputy Governor stated.
He confirmed that monthly deductions are continuously being made from civil servants' salaries, but the intended benefits of access to affordable housing have not been realised.
Demands for Immediate Action
The Deputy Governor, who found the circumstances "troubling," has initiated a high-level inquiry to ascertain the funds' status:
Audit Directive: The Deputy Governor instructed the Commissioner for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Mr. Saturday Odoko, to immediately engage with the relevant federal agencies and housing scheme operators to determine the actual status of the housing funds deducted from Bayelsa civil servants.
Ultimatum: Senator Ewhrudjakpo stressed that the state "will not hesitate to pull out our civil servants from the National Housing Scheme," if its operators fail to reposition the scheme to make it effective and beneficial for enrollees from Bayelsa.
Union Support and Historical Context
The state government's threat comes in direct support of the civil service unions, who have raised the alarm over the failure of the scheme locally.
Comrade Laye Julius, the State Chairman of the ASCSN and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), lamented that Bayelsa workers have been contributing to the housing scheme since 2007, yet "no single house had ever been built" in the state under the program.
The situation highlights a major flaw in the scheme's execution: the accumulation of funds designed for housing construction without corresponding visible development, thereby denying subscribing workers their earned equity and benefit.
The Deputy Governor also used the opportunity to urge labour unions to focus beyond monthly dues and begin engaging in profit-yielding investments to strengthen their own financial independence.
