The Federal Government has approved a ₦10 billion housing loan scheme to expand access to home ownership for civil servants, in what officials describe as a cornerstone of ongoing public service reforms.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, announced the initiative in Abuja, explaining that the facility will be managed through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board.

According to her, the scheme is structured to help eligible workers secure affordable mortgages and long-term housing loans, easing one of the biggest pressures on civil servants’ incomes: rent and insecure accommodation.

Walson-Jack framed the programme as both an economic and psychological intervention, arguing that stable housing directly influences productivity, discipline and commitment in the public sector. When workers are confident that their families have a permanent home, she said, they are more focused and better able to deliver on their mandates.

She stressed that the housing initiative is not an isolated welfare gesture but part of a broader philosophy guiding the current administration’s approach to governance. A civil service that is adequately supported, she noted, is better positioned to implement policies, manage public resources and drive national development.

The Head of Service linked the loan scheme to wider reforms aimed at modernising the bureaucracy, including a transition to digital, paperless operations and a stronger emphasis on transparency and accountability. These efforts, she said, are intended to build a “civil service of tomorrow” that is innovation-driven and responsive to citizens’ needs.

Walson-Jack also highlighted the role of inter-agency collaboration in making the housing scheme and other reforms possible. She cited the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation among key institutions that worked together to secure funding and design the framework.

She urged ministries, departments and agencies to sustain this cooperative approach beyond welfare initiatives, extending it to policy implementation and service delivery. The housing loan scheme, she added, should be seen as a signal that the contributions and sacrifices of civil servants are being recognised in tangible ways.