By Miriam Humbe
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has expressed willingness to partner with the Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders of Nigeria (IMBLN) to deal with fraud in the Sector, reduce bureaucracy in accessing mortgage, thereby give more Nigerians access to affordable housing.
This was made known by the Secretary to the Commission, Mr. Clifford Okwudiri Okparaodu when he received, on behalf of the ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu SAN, the Registrar of IMBLN, Dr. Jasper Adeleye and his team who visited the Commission recently.
Mr. Okparaodu said the issue of housing has always been of great concern for all especially as the 1999 Constitution, as amended, made provision for it, thereby making decent housing a right for all.
He, however, expressed with sadness the influx of fraudsters in the sector, who daily deny Nigerians the fulfilment of their dream of owning a decent accommodation.
The Commission’s scribe who congratulated IMBLN for their good vision charged them to reduce ambiguity in the process of access to mortgage for Nigerians to save them from falling into the hands of hoodlums.
He said: “ICPC is willing to partner with you to promote good governance, integrity and better life for Nigerians. We will have exchange of communication and intelligence, give us access to data and we will work out modalities to aid the collaboration”.
An executive from IMBLN, Mr. Kingsley Ojo, who spoke on behalf of the team said the inability to provide housing and access to mortgage for Nigerians affected not just the citizens but also the GDP of the Nation.
Ojo said that the pivotal issues surrounding mortgage and accessible housing bedeviled by corruption perpetuates poverty, inequality and deprives countless families of a basic human right of having a place to call home.
He therefore sought ICPC’s collaboration with his organisation to adopt strong anti-corruption measures in the industry, such as tough vetting processes for mortgage brokers and lenders and regular audits to verify compliance with ethical principles.
He said: “We believe that a collaboration between us can significantly contribute to eradicating corruption, money laundering and ensuring affordable housing for Nigerians”.
He therefore proposed information sharing, joint investigations, capacity building, advocacy and policy reform as some strategies that could be adopted by the two agencies to achieve success.
