The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has revealed that the National Housing Fund (NHF) has increased by N294 billion as additional contributions within the last 5 years.
This is as the financial institution has recorded as part of its achievement, the disbursement of N175 billion in affordable housing loans and construction finance.
This was made known by the outgoing Managing Director of the bank, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, as part of his remarks at a Town Hall Meeting with staff of the bank on Thursday in Abuja.
According to NAN, Dangiwa, whose tenure is expected to expire on April 8, was speaking on behalf of his management team, and said that the gains made over the 5 years, were as a result of transparency and accountability in the management of the scheme.
What the Managing Director of FMBN is saying
Dangiwa said, “I am happy to note that in five years, we have mobilised N294.1billion in additional contributions to the NHF scheme, at an average of N58.8 billion per annum.
“We were able to do this by ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of the NHF scheme, engaging state governments to resume contributions to the NHF scheme.
“We also built strategic partnerships with labour centres such as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).
“We also drove an aggressive campaign that saw historic participation of the informal sector, the self-employed and cooperative societies in the NHF scheme.
“Some of the practical results of these loan disbursements include the provision of NHF Mortgage loans to 5,938 beneficiaries. This represents over 34 per cent increase from the cumulative total of 17,092 beneficiaries as of April 2017.
“There was also the provision of home renovation loans to 77,575 beneficiaries. This represents over 2,926 per cent increase from the 2,579 beneficiaries as of April 2017.
“We also provided affordable construction finance for delivery of 13,499 affordable housing units nationwide. This represents over 59 per cent increase from the cumulative total of 20,435 housing units as of April 2017, when we assumed office.
“The third plank of our achievements is the speedy processing of N39.5 billion in refunds to 247,521retired NHF contributors.’’
The FMBN boss noted that the NHF scheme provided for contributors to be paid back their monies after retirement, at a one per cent interest rate.
He said that as of April 2017, when he came on board, FMBN had only refunded N10.8 billion to 132,605 retired contributors, adding that all the achievements were due to a 6-point strategy plan, which included upholding transparency and sound corporate governance culture and implementation of a robust risk management framework.
He listed others as cost containment, aggressive debt recovery, completion of ongoing projects and creation of mortgages to conclude estate funding transactions, as well as strengthening partnerships with regulatory agencies.
What you should know
- Recall that in April 2017, Dangiwa, was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, as the Managing Director of FMBN, to take over from Richard Esin, who had been serving in an acting capacity following the exit of Alhaji Gimba Ya’u Kumo, as MD/CEO of Federal Mortgage Bank.
- Until his appointment, Ahmed Dangiwa, who holds a Master degree in Architecture from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, was the Principal Partner of AM design consults, with vast experience in architecture and marketing management.
- The NHF is a scheme created by the Federal Government for Nigerian workers, to help them access flexible financing to get their own homes. The scheme was established by the NHF Act of 1992 and is administered by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).
- With NHF, Nigerians can access a single-digit low interest-housing loan and utilise it for the purchase, construction, renovation or expansion of their residential buildings. It is a statutory contribution that stipulates that all Nigerians earning the minimum national wage and above, should contribute 2.5% of their basic monthly salary to the fund