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Tag: Uniform

  • Uniform controversy: lawyer sues Senate

    Uniform controversy: lawyer sues Senate

    An Abuja-based lawyer has approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to restrain the National Assembly from compelling retired Col. Hameed Ali, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from wearing uniform.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, the plaintiff in the suit, made copies of the process available to newsmen on Tuesday.

    The suit listed other defendants to include the Comptroller-General of NCS, the NCS, the Senate and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

    The plaintiff is seeking a declaration of the court that the oversight functions of the National Assembly did not extend to compelling, mandating and enforcing the first defendant to wear uniform before performing his duties.

    He is also seeking the court to declare that the first defendant, who is not a commissioned officer of the NCS, is not mandated by law to wear the service’s uniform.

    Ibrahim further asked the court to declare if Ali’s appointment made pursuant to Sections 5 and 171 of the Constitution could be subjected to the provision of Customs and Excise Management Act or any other law.

    The plaintiff, therefore, urged the court to decide whether the first defendant’s appointment, having been made pursuant to the provisions of the constitution, could be subjected to the provisions of other laws.

    He also asked the court to explain whether there was any legal provision that prescribed the wearing of uniform as a condition precedent by the first defendant in view of his appointment under Section 171 of the constitution.

    He asked the court to decide whether the first defendant, not being commissioned custom officer, could be mandated to wear the service’s uniform for the performance of the duties of Comptroller-General.

    The plaintiff further urged the court to decide whether every directive or power hitherto exercised by the first defendant while not in uniform was null and void.

    Ibrahim had also asked the court to decide whether, in view of Section 88 (1) of the constitution, the senate could summon the first defendant having not published a resolution to that effect.

    NAN reports that the defendants are mandated to, within 30 days after service of the originating summons on them appear in court. (NAN)

  • Senate v Ali: Drama and politics over uniform

    Senate v Ali: Drama and politics over uniform

    As the face-off between the Senate and the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs and Excise Service peaked at the senate, Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor, traces the origin of the face-off and reports on the politics and drama

    The build-up started with the Senate Committee on Customs and Excise scolding the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd.), for refusing to wear service uniform.

    In the estimation of the upper chamber, the recalcitrance of Ali in choosing not to wear service uniform amounted to rebellion and insubordination against the institution he heads.

    As if the controversy over wearing of service uniform was not enough, the Senate picked issue with the customs comptroller for proposing what the lawmakers tagged anti-people policy.

    The parliamentarians were peeved that Ali issued a circular on retrospective payment of duty on vehicles.

    For them, gleefully compelling vehicle owners who are end users to pay duty on vehicles probably bought years ago was the height of insensitivity by the NCS.

    Like the ‘Ali Must Go’ episode of 1978, which saw students of higher institutions in the country do battle with a former Minister of Education, Colonel Ahmadu Ali, alleged excesses of Hameed Ali were itemized by the lawmakers.

    They did not just list Ali’s ‘sins’ but seemed to have resolved that enough was enough. The spoken and body language of the senators spoke volume.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, started the altercation by alerting his colleagues about a planned implementation of retrospective duty payment on vehicles.

    At the end of the debate the senate resolved to ask the Comptroller-General of Customs to put the policy on hold.

    They did not stop there; the lawmakers summoned the NCS boss to appear before the chamber to explain reasons why the policy cannot be consigned to the dust bin of history.

    The issue took a turn for the worse a day after the resolution when Senator Dino Melaye drew the attention of his colleagues that customs CG vowed to go ahead with implementation of the retrospective duty payment on vehicles irrespective of senate’s resolution.

    The senate saw the position of the customs boss as an affront on its power as the highest lawmaking institution in the country.

    Melaye who appeared to have found an opportunity to cut the customs comptroller to size was at his best.

    “Mr. President, democracy is standing on three legs; one of the most important legs of democracy is the legislature and Nigerian Customs cannot function without the National Assembly because they cannot spend or survive without appropriations and oversight.

    “If this Senate, which is one of the most vibrant Senates in the history of this country, we take a resolution and an agency of government will have the temerity, will have the guts, will have the strength to blatantly disregard the entire institution of the Nigerian Senate. It is a very dark day for democracy.

    “I am a member of the Customs Committee, and I want to educate some of us today that the position of the Comptroller-General of Customs is a rank. As I speak today, we have Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs; the next promotion, if it comes to be, is Comptroller- general of customs and we have asked this man in the committee why he is not wearing the rank of comptroller General and he said uniform men don’t wear uniform twice.

    “Then I asked under which law and I educated him by reminding him that he retired as a Colonel and General Hananiya retired as a General; he was appointed as the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission; he wore promptly and daily the uniform of the commission.

    “Then, if that position is a rank and you are not wearing that rank, it means you are not even proud of the Nigerian Customs. I want to believe that government exists to serve the people and not the people in government, and if we have taken a position in the interest of the Nigerian people, an institution of government will show disrespect and disparage the Nigerian senate,” Melaye said.

    The Kogi West senator reminded the senate that if the policy was implemented, the people that would be mostly affected are poor Nigerians.

    “We need to check this properly because if customs people will now start checking duty certificate on Nigerian roads, I will not be affected because if the president is coming, no customs men will stop him to ask him for his customs paper; the customs people will only salute and he will pass; if a senator is passing, including Ike Ekweremadu, when he is passing, nobody will stop him to ask for customs papers, they have to standstill till his convoy passes. But we are doing it in the interest of the Nigerian people and they have now confronted the institution of the Nigerian senate,” Melaye insisted.

    Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan who was also irked asked the senate to rise and curb the excesses of the customs boss.

    The Lagos-West lawmaker further urged senate that it was time for the amendment of the Customs Act to streamline the functions of the agency.

    The performance of the NCS under Ali, he said, had been on the downward trend.

    Adeola did not stop there. He underscored the fact that the Service had recorded dwindling revenue while officers and men of the Service would become more vulnerable to corruption if the policy was allowed to stand.

    Senator Kabiru Marafa, in his contribution said, “The customs need to know that they are under the people of Nigeria and Nigeria is under a democratic rule, and we are elected into office by the people, and we have a duty to protect the people of Nigeria.

    “This kind of impunity cannot be allowed to continue. This is one issue that all Nigerians are unanimously against; it is condemnable and we cannot allow it to see the light of day,’ Marafa said.

    Perhaps, the Customs CG did not realise the Senate may have wanted to use his refusal to wear service uniform to get at him.

    It was obvious when Ali eventually bowed to pressure and appeared before the Senate on Thursday.

    As predicted, he was attired in his traditional white caftan with cap to match. The talk when he was ushered into the Senate chamber after being left in the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, for over two and half hours, was no longer the overzealous policy of duty payment on old vehicles.

    He was completely washed down and walked out of the chamber to go and do the needful.

    Call it “power pass power” and you may not be wrong. It appeared the Senate had made up its mind on what to do.

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, may have put it in proper perspective before he put the question on whether Ali should be asked to go home and return with the proper uniform.

    Ekweremadu said: “Distinguished colleagues, we have heard everybody and the CG. I’m going to put the question but let me just do a further explanation to the CG of Customs: Mr. CG, if you look at Section 2 of the Customs Act, it defines the officer and that definition is so comprehensive to include the Comptroller-General of Customs.

    “I believe there are certain things the officers take for granted, which includes wearing uniforms. So, if that is what they should take for granted, I believe as the number one Customs officer, you should lead by example. Because if you create the impression that you should not wear uniform, then every other officer can also say there is no law telling them to wear uniform?

    “So, we as leaders we must lead by example and example is the best teacher. So, I think we need to encourage those we supervise to obey the law, by ourselves obeying the law.

    “Let me also further explain to you that why we still need to meet with you regarding the policy is that you simply suspended it. The suspension means that it can still come into force. We will like to have a conversation with you on the propriety or otherwise of that policy. So, you have an opportunity to explain to Nigerians through their elected representatives the propriety or otherwise of that. And then you will hear a feedback of Nigerians, also through their representatives. If Nigerians say we don’t like this, of course we are not going to force any policy on them. I think that’s why it is necessary that even after the suspension; we still need to have that conversation with you.

    “We must ensure that we lead by example. The Senate, as you can see, is of the view that you need to come back in the proper uniform.”

    The adoption of the motion that the Customs CG should go back appear next Wednesday in proper uniform was unanimous.

    Ekweremadu amplified the resolution, saying, “The Senate observed that the Comptroller-General was not properly dressed. The Senate therefore insists to see the Comptroller-General of Customs in uniform on Wednesday, 22 of March at 10am prompt.”

    As the Customs CG walked out of the Senate chamber, he appeared to be unrepentant.

    But the import of the unfolding drama was not lost on some observers. Why take a job you are not proud to wear its uniform, was the question on the lips of some people.

  • Senate turns back Customs CG Ali over uniform

    Senate turns back Customs CG Ali over uniform

    THE Senate yesterday sent the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), packing from its chamber over his failure to comply with the directive to wear service uniform to the session.

    The upper chamber had summoned the Customs boss to appear before it to throw light on the controversial policy on retrospective payment of duty on vehicles.

    The invitation also mandated the CG to wear Customs uniform.

    In line with the resolution, Ali appeared yesterday.

    But, he was left waiting in the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, for about two and half hours.

    By exactly 12.05, Ali was ushered into the chamber by Enang following a motion by Senate Leader Ahmed Lawn.

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, reminded Ali why he was invited and went ahead to ask the CG why he did not wear appropriate uniform in line with the directive of the Senate.

    The Customs boss acknowledged receipt of the first summon, which required him to appear in Customs uniform, but claimed that the second summon was silent on whether he should appear in uniform or not.

    Ekweremadu told him that the second invitation was a reminder that he must appear before the Senate.

    Ali responded that on the issue of whether to wear uniform or not, he was seeking legal opinion and asked the Senate to also seek legal advice so that they could operate at the same level.

    Ekweremadu then threw the matter to the floor for comments.

    Na’Allah, who was the first to speak, reminded the Customs boss that he raised the motion over the policy on retrospective payment of duty on old vehicles.

    He said: “I crave your indulgence to try and put a recital with what I can best refer to as unnecessary controversy.

    He then referred the Customs CG to relevant Sections of the Customs and Excise Act.

    Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West) put it more succinctly.

    Adeola said: “To start with, this Senate, the highest lawmaking body of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, issued a resolution and the content of the resolution is crystal clear and which states that the Comptroller-General of Customs appear before it in uniform. The resolution still stands and what is happening here today is contrary to the resolution passed by the 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “I believe it is only right and proper for the C-G of Customs to comply with that resolution and as you can see here this afternoon, every other person that have followed the CG of Customs into this chamber are fully dressed in their attire as member of the NCS and I want to say this, anybody can dress in mufti and call himself CG.

    Senator Jibrin Barau (Kano North), in his contribution, noted that having heard what Na’Allah said, the Customs boss should go back and comply before he could be allowed to address that Senate.

    Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South East) reminded Ali that he is the image-maker of the NCS and should work to build the image of the Service he superintends.

    Senator Thompson Sekibo said that the business of governance should always be based on rule of law.

    He moved that Ali should be given another date on Wednesday to comply with the Senate resolution by wearing appropriate uniform before he could be allowed to address the Senate.

    Senator Barnabas Gemade seconded the motion.

    The adoption of the motion that the Customs CG should go back and appear on Wednesday in proper uniform was unanimous.

    Ekweremadu amplified the resolution, saying: “The Senate observed that the Comptroller-General was not properly dressed. The Senate, therefore, insists to see the Comptroller-General of Customs in uniform on Wednesday, 22 of March at 10a.m. prompt.”

  • Senators tackle Customs CG over failure to wear uniform

    Senators tackle Customs CG over failure to wear uniform

    The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) yesterday came under attack over his refusal to wear Customs uniform since his appointment in 2015.

     This is coming as a former Comptroller- General said that Col. Ali should have been addressed as sole administrator.

     The former Customs boss, Mohammed Bello, who served under former President Ibrahim Babangida administration noted that since Ali was not ready to wear a uniform depicting the office and rank of Customs CG, he should have been designated sole administrator.

     The altercation with Col. Ali occurred at an interactive session the Senate Committee on Customs and Excise had with the management Customs, Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria over an impending amendment bill aimed at restructuring the NCS.

     A member of the Committee, Senator Obinna Ogba, demanded to know why Col Ali as Customs’ CG still appear and wear mufti close to two years after his appointment.

     The Ebonyi Central Senator noted that the continuous appearance of Col Ali in mufti several months after his appointment appears to be “highly demoralising to officers and men of the front-line revenue generating agency.”

     Col.Ali fired back that as a former military officer, tradition does not permit him to wear any other uniform.

     Col. Ali’s response infuriated another member of the Committee, Senator Dino Melaye.

      Melaye promptly reminded the Custom CG that a retired General of the Nigerian Army, Halidu Hananiya wore Federal Road Safety Commission’s uniform when he was appointed Corps Marshall of the Commission.

     Ali countered and told the committee that Gen. Hananiya made a fundamental mistake by wearing FRSC uniform.

     The insistence of Ali that he would not wear Customs uniform angered Senator Ogba who angrily walked out the session.

     While walking out of the hearing room, Ogba retorted “this is how you people keep on deceiving Nigerians on wrong action and still defending it.”

     The Customs boss would have non of that as he refused to give in to the pressure of the committee members.

     The committee also confronted Ali over the non-composition of Customs board since 2015 when it was dissolved.

     Chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, insisted that “it was wrong and in fact illegal for the Customs CG alone to promote and fire officers without the board in place.

     Uzodinma mandated the CG to ensure the immediate constitution of the board in line with Customs Act.

     Uzodinma said: “You claim that the Minister of  Finance is the one delaying the composition of the board; this committee is writing letters straight away to the Minister, Secretary to the Government and Attorney General of Federation to put the board in place without any further delay.”

     Although the session ended almost on a sour noted, Uzodinma jokingly told the Custom CG that “We are releasing you to go and sow your uniform while we continue with official of Ministry of Finance and Central Bank.”

     Bello at another session supported the committee for querying the Col. Ali over his continuous refusal to wear Custom uniform.

     The former Customs boss noted that Col Ali should have been designated as Sole administrator and not CG of Customs since he was not prepared wear Customs uniform.

     Other former Customs CGs including Buba Jacob now Gwon Gwon of Jos, Bernard-Shaw Nwadialo? , A. Mustapha, defended the Customs Service on implementation of destination inspection policy as against pre-shipment inspection policy which the committee said remained the existing Act.

  • Uniform of religion

    As could be expected, the June 3 ruling by a High Court in Osogbo, Osun State, in favour of religion-related veil-wearing by female Muslim students in public primary and secondary schools in the state, has resulted in absurdities.

    A background report: “The court, presided by Justice Jide Falola, in a 51-page judgment…held that any act of molestation, harassment, torture and humiliation against female Muslim students using Hijab constitutes a clear infringement on their fundamental rights. Folala cited Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) to rest his ruling.” It continued: “Osun State Muslim Community on Feb. 14, 2013, dragged the State Government to the court. They sought an order of the court to allow female Muslim students to enjoy their fundamental rights by granting them order to use veil in public schools.”

    Following Justice Falola’s decision, a secondary school in Iwo on June 14 became a theatre of comicalities. A report said: “Students of Baptist High School, Iwo, who wore vestments, caused a stir in the school as other students who were in uniform hailed them. Some female Muslim students who also appeared in hijab equally gained access to the school without restriction. Also, some male students donned white robes around 8:30am before other students joined in donning white and purple choir robes…Also, some students dressed in white Celestial Sutana were hailed by their classmates…”

    Considering that things have reached this theatrical stage, it remains to be seen how far the comedy of errors and horrors can go. The errors are based on an erroneous understanding of secularity; the horrors are based on a horrifying picture of what is possible when the question of secularity is not definitively answered.

    In the final analysis, the legal endorsement of hijab in public schools in Osun State further highlighted the reality of ambiguous secularity. In this case, it is unclear why the judge could not distinguish between the uniform of religion and the uniform of secular education, and why he could not appreciate the incongruity of a combination of the two in public schools.

    The students who wore church garments to school in Iwo “were allegedly children of some Christian clerics… in line with the directive of the Osun State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)”. The Christian body had protested, and had also called for a protest against the court judgement that endorsed hijab-wearing in public schools during school hours.

    A report quoted the head of the Catholic bloc of CAN in Iwo, Cathechist Paul Olagoke, who said its members were in the school to ensure that no student was chased out. He reportedly said: “We are here to defend the rights of our children. Since female Muslim students are free to wear hijab, our children are also free to wear anything they want, too.”

    The plot thickens. Secularity needs to be clarified, so that clarity can put an end to unclear ideas about the limits and limitations of religion in a secular society pursuing social progress.

    It is clear that the dramatic news pictures of some students who attended school in church garments cannot change the existing court decision validating hijab in public schools in the state. Clearly, the authoritative intervention of the highest structures of justice would be necessary for the needed clarity.

    Ultimately, the path to take is the straight and narrow pathway of the law, particularly because the issue has not been settled by the final court, and the current decision can be still be challenged at higher levels of the justice system. The Christians cannot expect to change the current court judgment by their forms of protest outside the courts, and they should understand that and be guided by that reality.

    Interestingly, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) responded to the adoption of unhelpful self-help by the Christians. It observed that some Christian students of the Salvation Army Middle School, Iwo, also attended school in church garments, apart from those that did the same thing at Baptist High School. The group advised the protesters in a statement: “If CAN is genuinely interested in protecting Christian interest, they should go on appeal, otherwise no matter their current protest (which will fade away with time like every other protest but only make the current CAN leaders get TV and newspaper popularity), the current judgement will remain the valid law of the land…the law will stand if Osun CAN doesn’t immediately go on appeal.” This is a developing story and Osun CAN should help it to develop further towards a definitive clarification.

    It is said that History repeats itself. It remains to be seen whether the Osun Islamic scarf controversy would follow the course of the Islamic scarf controversy that arose in France in 1989 concerning the wearing of hijab in French public schools. For over a decade, the French controversy cried for clarity until President Jaques Chirac in 2003 “decided that a law should explicitly forbid any visible sign of religious affiliation in public schools, in the spirit of secularism”. A report said: “The law, sometimes referred to as “the veil law” was voted in by the French parliament in March 2004. It forbids the wearing of any “ostentatious” religious articles, including the Islamic veil, the Jewish kippa, and large Christian crosses. The law permits discreet signs of faith, such as small crosses, Stars of David, and hands of Fatima.”

    What followed this important clarification of secularity? The report said: “In 2004, a year after the law was voted in, one organisation opposed to it, called the “Committee of the 15th of March and Liberty,” published a report on the law’s effects. The report cites the files of 806 students affected by the law. Of the 806 students, 533 have accepted the law and no longer wear their veils in class. The report also gives an assessment of students who have left the French school system because of this issue. Among them, 67 have pursued their studies abroad. Another 73 of those 806 suspended or expelled from schools over the veil have chosen to take government-run CNED correspondence courses in order to finish their studies. The number of those who have chosen to study via other, non-government forms of correspondence schools is unknown.” It added: “The opening of the 2005 school year passed largely without incident, and opposition to the law seems to have given way to broader public opinion. However, the actual number of those who no longer attend French junior high and high schools over their veils is unknown.”

    There is no doubt that the French example is clearly secularist, and leaves no grey area that could be manipulated by those without a conceptual understanding necessary for a correct interpretation of the idea of secularity.

    The secularity test in Osun State is useful. Hopefully, it would eventually help to further clarify the concept and practice of secularity for the benefit of the other states of the federation, and for the benefit of the state of the federation.

     

  • Abuse of NYSC uniform

    SIR: A man is only called a priest when he wears the priestly garment; same is true for a lawyer – his wig identifies and defines him. Uniforms are of significance much more than we think.

    The abuse of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) uniform has sadly been on the increase. Oftentimes, I see young, out-of-school children, hawkers, drug addicts, mechanics and other categories of people putting on the NYSC uniform. If the needful is not done in good time to nip this ugly act in the bud, the love enjoyed by genuine youth corps members would grow into hatred especially, in the rural areas where the abuse of the uniform is rampant.

    It is a show of faith in a brand that a retired military officer will never contemplate, in the name of demonstration of charity, to give out his military uniform to his brother or any member of the society who has not passed through military training like it has become the norm in giving out of NYSC uniform to non-corps members by ex-corps members! In the guise of showing benevolence to the needy, ex-corps members give out their used NYSC uniform to non-corps members.

    It is absolutely necessary the governing body of the NYSC carry out a sensitization workshop to warn corps members who have a heart or who intend to demonstrate such charity to desist from it and also back up such sensitization with stringent laws to prosecute those found wanting even after the service year.

    If the military authorities can prevent civilians from putting on the military camouflage, it won’t be wrong if the NYSC scheme toes the same line.

     

    • Adebote Mayowa,

    Lagos.

  • Access seeks uniform reporting standard

    Access seeks uniform reporting standard

    Chief Risk Officer, Access Bank Plc, Dr. Gregory Ovie Jobome has called on stakeholders in the Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP) to follow uniform reporting standards for them to achieve the desired objective.

    Speaking at the NSBP Pre-Reporting Workshop held yesterday in Lagos, he said stakeholders needed to ensure that they formulate policies that will enable them achieve their sustainable banking objectives. The workshop was organised by Access Bank.

    He said operators needed to ensure that issues around human rights, environment, sectors to bank and other critical issues are reported uniformly.

    The NSBP, he said, should be the minimum standard that banks follow, adding that global standards can also be domesticated.

    The Managing Director of Sustainable Finance Limited, Carey Bohjanen said banks should think through the NSBP and implement them. He said the NSBP is a regulatory requirement that lenders have to adhere to because it is also cost-saving.

    She said in line with global trends on sustainability, the CBN, on March 6, issued the NSBPs reporting template to banks, discount houses and development finance institutions for compliance.

    The purpose of the reporting template, she added, was to provide reporting institutions with a uniform format for reporting their implementation efforts.

    To successfully implement the guidelines, she said, it is necessary for reporting institutions to have an implementation plan with realistic timelines, stressing that all hands must be on deck to ensure successful implementation of the NSBPs.

    She said the reporting template developed by the CBN will encourage consistency in reporting by banks, discount houses and development finance institutions as well as provide the CBN with a standard for assessing the commitment of reporting institutions to implementing the principles and sector guidelines.

    The CBN expects that these policies and procedures would have been ratified by the bank’s Board of Directors; and exposed to management staff and subsequently, all staff of respective institutions.

  • Photo: New Customs camouflage uniform

    Photo: New Customs camouflage uniform

    COMPTROLLER-GENERAL OF CUSTOMS, DIKKO ABDULLAHI (4TH L) WITH SOME MEMBERS OF CUSTOMS MANAGEMENT, UNVEILING THE NEW CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORM IN ABUJA ON WEDNESDAY (9/7/14). Photo NAN
    COMPTROLLER-GENERAL OF CUSTOMS, DIKKO ABDULLAHI (4TH L) WITH SOME MEMBERS OF CUSTOMS
    MANAGEMENT, UNVEILING THE NEW CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORM IN ABUJA ON WEDNESDAY (9/7/14). Photo NAN

  • Uniform standards for mortgage banks

    The Central Bank of Nigeria has given next year as the target date to wind down the consolidation and reforms of the mortgage sector.

    The apex bank promised to implement a Uniform Mortgage Underwriting Standard in the mortgage sector, Executive Secretary, Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), Kayode Omotoso, has said.

    Omotoso told The Nation at the Second Housing Finance & Investment Conference and Exhibition in Lagos that the focus of the group is to remove the Land Use Act from the constitution and allow for the development of a robust secondary mortgage market, as well as increase long –term funds for housing delivery with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) with MBAN as arrow -heads.

    He urged governments at all levels to make provision for housing grants, subsidies and subventions in their budgets to provide low rate mortgages for social housing to the public sector and lower class for affordable housing.

    He called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce a mortgage default insurance scheme for the sector, while urging stakeholders to cooperation with local and foreign partners towards effective consumer credit literacy with emphasis on the sector products and services.