The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has announced new plans to deepen the provision of housing for the mass and middle income markets that will provide affordable houses at five million naira and below.
The Acting Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Richard Esin, made the revelation while addressing members of the National Assembly who were on an oversight visit to the bank.
While promising to implement a new business model with a sharp focus on seamless housing supply, he noted “Over the next two dry season cycles, our plan is to, in phase one, ensure the completion of 24 estates. This will also lead to the generation of about 5,000 houses in the nation’s housing stock”.
“A second phase with 38 estates, resulting in the erection of about 10,000 houses in the nation’s housing stock and then the last phase is the completion of 14 housing estates that will also bring in about 2,300 houses in the nation’s housing stock,” he told the lawmakers.
Esin disclosed that Nigeria’s housing deficit is huge, with the available housing stock too expensive for middle class and low income earners to access.
Reacting to his plea to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release its equity contribution of N1.5 billion to the management of the bank, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Senator Barnabas Gemade, called on the apex bank to comply as soon as possible so that FMBN will be alive to its responsibilities.
He also announced plans by the committee to make budgetary provision in the 2017 budget to enable the Federal Government address issues of housing deficit, saying “We have seen the CBN make donations of billions of Naira in this country and for them to leave a responsibility like equity in a bank that is the foremost mortgage institution in Nigeria and contributing to the welfare of ordinary people by providing mortgage financing unattended to all these years leaves a lot be desired”.
“I think that CBN should be ashamed of this particular situation and should do something about as quickly as possible,” he said
