The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has implored the Federal Government to re-capitalise the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to improve its capacity to deliver low and affordable houses.
The President of REDAN, Dr Aliyu Wamakko, who made the call in Enugu on Thursday in an address at the “AKULUEUNO 2021”,lamented that the capacity of the bank to deliver on its mandates had been bedeviled with low capital standing.
He added:“The country is growing and the need for housing is expanding and the Federal Mortgage Bank needs to be re-capitalised to meet modern challenges and increase the need for housing now more than before”.
Wamakko also appealed to the National House of Assembly and the state houses of assemblies to pass the new Estate and Housing Development Bill put forward by stakeholders in the industry in order to check quackery and ensure standardisation of estate businesses, procedures and practices.
“This singular bill when passed will transform the way estate businesses, procedures and practices in the industry will be carried out in the federation as well as check quackery practitioners in the country,” he said.
Wamakko said that in line with REDAN’s mandate to develop affordable homes to Nigerians, the 6th executive of REDAN had come up with a National Housing Programme tagged: “Rural-Urban Housing Initiative (RUHI-774).
According to him, the scheme is to develop at least 100 affordable housing units in each of the 774 local government councils of the federation including the FCT where viable and feasible,” he said.
Speaking,the Executive Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr Melville Ebo, assured REDAN of the bank and Federal Government cooperation to ensure Nigerians own decent and affordable homes.
Ebo said that the bank was focused on low income earners in the society, who can at least contribute 2.5 per cent of their monthly earnings.
He said that the bank had housing development loans, which can be accessed by its contributors; the bank also had home renovation loans as well.
“The Federal Government is highly committed to provide low cost and affordable shelters for all Nigerians and it is doing this through various intervention programmes and partnerships,’’ he said.
