FG reaffirms resolve to recapitalise FMBN, strengthen PMIs

Once again, the Federal Government has reaffirmed its resolve to recapitalise the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for secondary mortgage market operations.

Shamsudden Usman, minister, national planning, who stated this, added that the Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) would also be strengthened as part of efforts to completely eliminate the housing deficit in the country.

Usman, also vice chairman, National Planning Commission (NPC), stated this in his presentation at the South West validation workshop on the draft National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

He said the National Housing Fund (NHF) would be energised and reinvigorated, assuring that government would provide easy access to long-term, affordable and adequate housing finance on a continuous basis.

According to him, the country needed $2.9 trillion to close the infrastructure gap over the next 30 years, explaining that the plan was to make serviced land with secure tenure easily available, accessible, transferable and at an affordable price for housing development.

The government, he disclosed, would establish a reliable and comprehensive database for generating statistical information as well as provide incentives and the necessary legal and regulatory environment to attract public private partnerships (PPP) in mass housing development.

The minister said government would channel sizeable part of pension fund and other funds into housing, explaining that the $2.9 trillion was the required investments to close infrastructure gap between 2014 and 2034.

“The country currently spends $9-$10 billion per annum on infrastructure; the 30-year NIIMP plan will cut across various sectors of the economy and will accelerate economic activities for the teeming populace,” he said.

He further said that NIIMP became necessary in view of Nigeria’s huge infrastructure gap, which had slowed down economic growth, reduced the impact of efforts at reducing poverty and unemployment, and made life more difficult for Nigerians.

He listed benefits of NIIMP to include enhanced economic growth, prioritised projects and programmes, efficient allocation of resources, enabling environment for investors, positive externalities and investors guide, adding that the bottom-line would be to build strong and inclusive growth that would create jobs for Nigerians.

By: REMI FEYISIPO