Members of the Senior Staff Association of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) on Thursday April 30 staged a protest at the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) branch in Alagbaka, Akure, over the non-remittance and non-refund of National Housing Fund (NHF) contributions deducted from their salaries.
The FMBN administers the NHF, a federal scheme established to provide affordable housing finance for Nigerians through monthly deductions from workers’ earnings.
The FUTA branch of SSANU is championing the protest on behalf of the national leadership of the union, with its permission, as the issue affects members across all branches nationwide.
Speaking during the protest, Chairman of the association, Mr. Felix Adubi, said the demonstration was aimed at expressing the union’s dissatisfaction with the administration of the fund. He explained that by law, contributors who retire and are not indebted to the bank are entitled to a refund of their NHF contributions within three months of application. However, he noted that FUTA staff who retired as far back as 2020 have yet to receive their refunds, describing the situation as a violation of the Act establishing the Fund and an infringement on the rights of contributors.
The union leader attributed the delay to the failure of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to remit deductions to the FMBN as at when due. According to him, information obtained from the bank indicated that IPPIS, an agency under the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in the Federal Ministry of Finance, had not remitted deductions for up to 20 months. This, he said, was the main reason the bank had been unable to process refunds for retired staff.
Mr. Adubi called on the Minister of Finance to intervene urgently and direct that all withheld deductions be released without further delay. He stated that the protest served as a one-month ultimatum to the Federal Government to address the matter, adding that it marked the first stage of a series of actions the union had lined up to press home its demands.
He further stressed the need for transparency in the management of the scheme, noting that serving staff also deserve to know the status of their contributions to enable them plan for retirement.