FMBN raises confidence in NHF, refunds N12.4bn, registers 224,752 contributors
The interest and confidence level in the National Housing Fund (NHF) has been raised significantly in the last 12 months by the management of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) which supervises the operations of the fund.
Perhaps, for the first time in its over three decades of operation as a homeownership vehicle for low income earners, a positive report is being given on the fund. The last one year has witnessed the processing of N12.4billion refunds to contributors to the fund while 224,752 new contributors to the fund have been registered.
This is a landmark achievement and Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, MD/CEO of FMBN, who made this revelation during the visit of the Senate Committee on Housing to the bank in Abuja, added that within the same period, FMBN disbursed N40.9 billion housing loans to 1,843 contributors, and provided Home Renovation loans totaling N14.072billion to 16,031 Nigerian workers.
Dangiwa also pointed out the innovative housing products that FMBN has created to tackle the housing affordability challenge for contributors to the NHF. These include the rent-to-own scheme, where contributors can own homes and pay by monthly or yearly rents over a 30-year period.
There are also the NHF Individual Housing Construction loans that are payable over a 15-year period at interest rates of 7 percent and the reduction of equity contribution requirements for accessing NHF loans from 10 to zero percent for sums of money up to N5 million and from 20 and 30 percent to 10 percent for loans of up to N15 million.
The committee, which was excited by this performance, commended the management of the bank for their efforts at reforming and repositioning the bank as Nigeria’s leading mortgage institution and provider of affordable social housing.
Barnabas Gemade, the committee chairman, said they were particularly impressed by the the ability of the management to create a professional work culture and their sustained push for the N500billion recapitalization of the institution, which has led to the passage of the NHF and FMBN amendment bills by the National Assembly.
The committee also commended the development of innovative housing products to cater to the unique needs of the Nigerian worker, adding that the bank’s aggressive drive to leverage technology to increase transparency and accountability in the operations of the bank was also commendable.
Gemade stated that in the last two years of carrying out their constitutional role of supervising and over-sighting the bank, they had noted a strong sense of direction and accountability by the management. “In the past two years, we have seen tremendous turnaround in terms of management and organization of this agency. This gives us a sense of comfort that whatever investment government has made, and whatever appropriation the Nigerian people have committed here, either directly or through government, is in safe hands,” he said.
Dangiwa assured that the bank would continue ongoing efforts to fully automate its business operations to improve efficiency and timeliness in the delivery of its services to Nigerian workers. He stated that a key component of this strategic policy was achieving end-to-end automation of all its operations ranging from NHF collection, loan processing, issuance of statement of accounts, NHF refunds amongst others.
He in turn commended the committee for their support of the bank. Specifically, he expressed the appreciation of the bank for the accelerated hearing and passage of the NHF and FMBN Amendment bills which were now ready for the President’s assent.
CHUKA UROKO