The National Coordinator Servicom Presidency (SERVICOM), Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli Friday, commended the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for enhancing its service delivery to customers.
Speaking during the presentation of the 2024 Service Compliance Evaluation (SCE) Report on 16 branches of FMBN in Abuja, Akajemeli said that the bank’s assessment between 2021 and 2024 has revealed a significant progress in service delivery.
The SERVICOM coordinator said the aim of the report is to identify service delivery gaps and recommend improvements to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in order to enhance customer satisfaction and accountability.
According to the National Coordinator, in 2021, 17 locations, including the headquarters, were assessed for compliance with the SERVICOM index. “To expand the sample, 16 additional state branches were evaluated in 2024.”
Speaking further, she said that the evaluation process involved discussions with developers, contributors, State Civil Service Commissions, management, staff, and partners, and most importantly customer interviews, as well as a review of key FMBN documents and its website.
Citing Abia and Osun States respectively as examples, Akajameli disclosed that the branches had the highest number of subscribers from the informal sector, who registered as cooperative societies to access housing units.
“In Osun, the bank has increased access to its services by introducing the Diaspora Loan for those in the informal sector. This shows some innovation in its service delivery process,” she added.
She highlighted challenges such as inadequate oversight of developers at the state level. “Some developers used their own funds to construct estates and subsequently raised housing prices to recover costs.
“This has made it difficult for civil servants in states like Abia to afford homes, leading to losses, as seen in the SLOGANI Estate case.
“Customers in Asaba, Benin, Ekiti, Ilorin, Osun, and Ondo also raised concerns over the high prices of FMBN-funded houses, particularly under the Rent-to-Own (RTO) product, which they found unaffordable.
“Some customers in Umuahia, Awka, Uyo, Yenagoa, Asaba, Abakaliki, Benin, and Ekiti complained that there was a delay in payment of Home Renovation Loans (HRL) and refunds by the bank.
“Thus, customers are losing confidence in the scheme and threatening to pull out due to delays and high cost of materials caused by inflation.
“This has depreciated the value of the loan when eventually disbursed.”
Speaking on some of the challenges observed, the SERVICOM boss said the mortgage banker should decentralised decision-making on loan disbursements at the state level to ensure timely service delivery, adding that they establish clear pricing guidelines and closely monitor fund disbursement to prevent arbitrary price increases by developers.
In his open remarks, Managing Director FMBN Mr. Shehu Osidi lauded SERVICOM for its dedication and transparency of the report.
Osidi said the disbursement on milestones is to control and monitor projects to avoid the funds being diverted.
He assured that FMBN would address the identified gaps and further enhance its service delivery.