The House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Federal Government to establish housing estates across the country for retired military personnel and widows of officers who died in active service.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by the member representing Igabi Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, Hussaini Jallo, during plenary.
Leading the debate, Jallo said many members of the Armed Forces retire from service without access to decent and affordable housing despite years of dedicated service to the country.
He said, “Widows and dependants of officers and men who lost their lives in active service are often left without adequate housing support, thereby worsening their social and economic vulnerability.
“We are aware that provision of decent post-service housing is a critical component of military welfare and a practical demonstration of national appreciation for the sacrifices of members of the Armed Forces.”
The lawmaker noted that several service-based housing institutions already exist within the country’s security architecture, demonstrating the capacity to support such an initiative.
“The House observes that service-based housing agencies within the Armed Forces such as Post Service Housing Development Limited of the Nigerian Army; the Nigerian Air Force Housing and Construction Company Limited; Nigerian Air Force Properties Limited; the Navy Holdings Limited of the Nigerian Navy, housing schemes operated by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as well as other security institutions, have developed housing schemes in different parts of the country, thus showing existing institutional capacity in security-sector housing delivery,” he said.
Jallo further pointed out that the Federal Housing Authority is well placed to coordinate a nationwide scheme that would bring the various initiatives under a unified framework.
He said the agency, “by virtue of its statutory mandate and nationwide operational presence, is strategically positioned to coordinate, standardise, and scale up these efforts into a unified national post-service housing framework.
“Furthermore, several countries have institutionalised post-service housing schemes for military and security personnel as part of structured welfare and veterans’ support systems.”
The lawmaker warned that the absence of a coordinated and institutionalised housing framework for retired personnel and families of fallen officers has serious implications for morale and welfare within the armed forces.
According to him, the situation “undermines morale, weakens welfare structures and exposes beneficiaries to avoidable hardship.”
Following the adoption of the motion, the House urged the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to establish a national post-service housing scheme for retired military personnel and widows of fallen officers across the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Lawmakers also urged the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Ministry of Defence to designate the Federal Housing Authority as the lead agency for implementing the programme.
They further recommended that the scheme leverage the technical capacity of existing service-based housing agencies while ensuring that a defined proportion of the housing units is reserved for widows and dependants of military personnel who lost their lives in active service.
In this article