The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Hon Oyetunde Ojo, has said that it took a lot of resilience, sacrifices, deprivation and anti-corruption campaign to revive the government agency from its moribund nature to the revenue generating agency it is today.

Speaking Wednesday in Abuja, after he was honoured with an award of excellence by the Anti Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the official research and training arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Hon Ojo said he met a debt burden of over 12 billion naira when he assumed office at the FHA, alongside other appointees two years ago, with staff of the agency owed salaries and allowances.

He said, however, his team put machineries in place to offset the over 12 billion naira deficit within a year and has even contributed 3 billion naira to the federation account in July this year, saying the contribution will amount to 6 billion naira in December, 2026.

He said the initiatives introduced by his team have ensured that staff salaries and allowances are paid regularly, despite not receiving a dime from the federal government as subvention, saying the agency is also sending staff for training in Nigeria and I’m different parts of the country.

He said: “The Federal Housing Authority of Nigeria was established in 1973 by the decree of an act. This was an agency some of us in the 80s and early 90s got to know that we really wanted to work as staff, not as MD. When we came to this organisation, the executive directors and myself, we wondered at what point did the decay got to that level.

“You know, there are prosperous ministries, agencies in the country. So when I was appointed and we got here, we said, no, this is not what we expected. What is going on? We met over 12 billion Naira deficit. We could not pay salary. That’s the truth. And the deficit was backed by a Supreme Court judgement. So there’s nowhere to run to. The first month, we don’t even know where we’re to pay salaries from .

“But we sat down, the five of us, myself and the first executive directors, and we realised we will soon be tired. But first, we needed to check ourselves in order for us to make progress and for people to believe in us. I keep saying Nigerians are not that difficult. The problem always is with leadership. And I’ll say it anywhere, even all over the world.

“I sat with the executive directors, and I said, for every sweat of this institution, we will not spend it on ourselves. We will make sure we bring back the institution to its glory. And we have to be responsive as leaders here. We decided to call the brilliant staffs.

“We realised that FHA has a lot of brilliant staff. It was just a leadership issue. And we told them we’d visions after taking briefs from the general managers. The first thing we first told them, and I personally stood my ground, I will not take one Naira from federal government. No, I will not take one subvention. Because when I was appointed, they thought that would be an advantage to get money from the federal government.

“I said, no. From 1977 to 2003, when we were de-listed from the budget revenue, I said, over N500 billion have been invested into the Federal Housing Authority of Nigeria. I said, if it was your father’s business, and your father has put in 500 billion naira into an investment, will you watch it die? No.

“Now, let’s go back and let’s see a situation where we will now be making profit for the Nigerian government and we say this is return on investment. Initially, it was like a joke. Even some of my executive directors did not believe me. But thank God I’ve been in politics, I’ve been in business, I’ve been in academics. So, I have a lot of combinations.

“We realised the staff must be well taken care of. We decided there will be no department that will not function. When I came, Servicom, ACTU never existed. I said, for government to have created an agency or created a department, there must be a reason. I called on the former GM Servicom ACTU. I said, ACTU, you are the policeman of this organisation. This organisation has gone so down.

“We will now start doing the police work. You and I will be moving from one office to another. Thank God I have the energy. Files, everything. Because we’re about to now start digitalisation. Over a year before, it used to be the analogue style. I said there’s wastage of revenue. We have to digitalise all our property files, both land and housing. And these are property files that are today in our custody, worth over 10 trillion naira.
That’s the truth. Gwarinpa and Lugbe are enough for you to do the analysis.

“We collect ground rents. We collect building approvals. And somebody who is in custody of over 10 trillion naira cannot pay salary? Something is wrong somewhere. We started digitalisation. We met with resistance, serious resistance. You know, when change is coming, that’s the most difficult thing. We stood our ground.

“So digitalisation process could not be achieved until we came. Every previous MD tried. When I came in, three weeks, there was no light. I said it’s a normal thing, baptism of fire. I would fight it. Generators were not working. No tools for staff to work. You will be seeing staff floating around. We were just working. We kept on. Petitions were flying everywhere because there was a change to happen. But we stood our ground. We were working Monday to Sunday. Till now, I still work Monday to Sunday. I don’t have a residence. I work public holidays. Even if I’m not in Abuja, I’m in one of our stations because we have zonal offices.

“In less than three months, we started seeing revenue. Gradually. In three months time, we realised we were running on surplus. By so doing, salary was no longer an issue. So then we started making the money, I told my executive directors, this money first must be ploughed back on the staff. There must be a good working environment. We met backlog promotions.

“We’re not on IPPIS. We pay our salaries, we do everything. But government takes 40% of every one Naira we make. But we’re not bothered. And we are still being given the mandate to provide affordable houses for Nigeria, even at zero cover.”

He added: “The first thing we did, in less than one year, we cleared the deficit of over 12 billion naira. We pay the medical bills of staff when sick. Now, we decided to say, no staff of this agency will pay one naira for transportation. From your home back to the office, transportation is free. We provided vehicles. We also decided to extend it to the GMs. Every week, they must collect fuel. We pay 13-month salary just to encourage the staff. Before I came, they hardly paid. But now, what do we do? Not just that we pay the 12-month, we pay the 13-month.

“Then the allowances, furniture and everything, we make sure we also pay that before January 7th. You know, January is a turbulent month, when parents will have to pay school fees. You need somebody to be mentally stable. He or she should not be thinking about school fees. So we make sure by January 7th of every year, all these furniture, wardrobe allowances are paid.

“So in December, you take two salaries, 12 and 13 months. So you have no complaint to say you are not comfortable in January or December. You are coming in January, you have no complaint to say you can’t pay your children school fees, even if it’s deposits.

“At least it gives you a rest of mind. Now, we decided to focus on training. Before we came, the new management, for over 15 years, staff of an agency in the building construction, in the building work, have not gone to both local and foreign training. And we said, no, not just we’ll be stopping at local training, we must start foreign training. We’re in the building industry. You go to China, you’ll see 100-story building, we see 50-story building due to population increase. And these are the challenges that will come to this country very shortly.

“So those people have to plan building for the population. We have 15 million deficits of houses. Does it even go for training at the local level? Right now, we are very happy, not just that we are going for local training, we are also going for foreign training.

“Some of our staff just came back from London. Some staff are going to America. But you are not just going, you are going for that training specific to your discipline so that when you come back, we are going to use that to enrich authority and pass the knowledge.

“So after doing all this, you now have to face the staff and say it is time to work. Because you must make sure you are comfortable in terms of welfare, in terms of packages, in terms of this, in terms of that. Now, we will not tolerate corruption at any level. Because what was your basis of corruption before? It was you don’t get salary, you don’t get allowance, you don’t get this, you don’t get that.

“We at the executive management level decided to deprive ourselves. And that’s the truth. I told the executive management team. I said, please, if we think of ourselves alone, or we don’t deprive ourselves, then this agency will not work, then we won’t be able to stop corruption. It is key. We must make sure in stopping corruption, government and leadership must be responsive.

“If a staff knows he cannot get salary at the end of the month, he or she will look for a sharp practise. If a staff knows my bosses in front of me have not been promoted for 10 years, then you start thinking about your own life. So some of these things are causes. That’s why I said leadership must be responsive. So what we did was zero tolerance to corruption. Punctuality. That’s why now we use what is called clock in, clock out. You don’t come to work for a certain number, you will not collect salary.”

ACAN Provost

Speaking earlier, while presenting the award to Hon. Ojo, the Provost of ACAN, Professor Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, said the MD was found worthy of the award by the Academy as a result of showcasing a vibrant knowledge and resolve to partner with the ICPC and ACAN to mitigate corrupt practises, especially within the Federal Housing Authority.

He said: “I know the MD of FHA as a person who is intellectually sound because we have engaged in an intellectual discourse several times with him. I know him as a person of calmness and soberness. I know him as a man of simplicity, and I know him as a great leader and administrator.

“That is why the changes and the dynamic ambience of what is unfolding in this particular institution today, from jostling to cuts, making the environment like a market, to emptying this particular environment and sanitising the environment, also curtailing the levels of litigations, these are all signs of leadership prowess.

“We at the ICPC, established within the framework of the ICPC Act 2000, the ICPC is mandated to carry out three major functions. And these functions are, one, to prevent corruption in the country. And using this particular preventive tool, the ICPC carries out system studies and review in all government ministries, departments, and agencies.

“Second, the ICPC is also mandated to carry out public education and enlightenment campaigns. Why? Because you don’t punish individuals without showing them the enormity of what they are about to commit and what the law positions itself on this particular mistake or whatever that is about to be committed, breach of law and the Constitution of the Federal Republic.

“So the ICPC, through a unit of public education and enlightenment, educate Nigerians and create awareness among Nigerians on the repercussions of breaching the law as well as impact of corruption on the society as well as the citizenry of this great nation. Then ultimately, the ICPC is also mandated to enforce the law on those who breach the Constitution, especially within the framework of corrupt practises.

“By extension, the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria is the sole training and research arm of the ICPC, which provides training, capacity building, and research works on issues that deal with ethics, integrity, and accountability. And by extension, issues that pertain corruption in this particular great nation.

“We are here today because the managing director has showcased a vibrant knowledge as well as resolve to partner with the ICPC and the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria to mitigate corrupt practises, especially within the Federal Housing Authority.

“He’s not only uniting Nigerians through housing, but he’s here to unite Nigerians through the Anti-Corruption Drive. That is why, in the last training conducted, FHA sent a significant number of members of staff in order to be trained, to have more capacity, to have more awareness, in order to strengthen the tools and instruments of executing their duties at FHA.

“From among these members of staff sent to ACAN, some of these particular participants excelled and performed wonderfully during this particular duration. They wouldn’t have showcased that without the support of the MD. We wouldn’t have seen them at the Academy without his resolve to be sending them to the Academy to learn about this particular course.

“That is why at the ICPC and ACAN, we carry out two instruments as majors. For incentivisation, one, and for shaming.
For shaming those who are caught in the act of corruption and for incentivising and motivating those who have shown their interest in the contributions within the system of fighting corruption. Not only within their institutional circle, but in the country in general.

“So today, we come to honour Honourable Oyetunde Ojo for his contributions, not only to ICPC and ACAN, but to Nigeria’s anti-corruption strategy, as well as national ethics and integrity policy, which advocates for human dignity, patriotism, as well as professionalism.”