The bank said this would be achieved through a partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank, a pan-African finance institution that exclusively supports the development of the housing and real estate sector in Africa.

The FMBN Managing Director, Shehu Usman Osidi, stated this while hosting the management of Shelter Afrique Development Bank recently in Abuja, noting that the bank had made reviving the housing estates a priority.

According to him, the intensified collaboration will help provide construction and mortgage financing to developers in Nigeria.

He said, “Nigeria has over 46 abandoned projects in the 36 states and the FMBN is determined to revive them.

“Our findings show that banks have entered into a housing financing agreement with states where the state governments are expected to provide infrastructure for these estates, but unfortunately many states reneged and the projects were abandoned.

“We have explored the product offerings of Shelter Afrique Development Bank and found out that they offer infrastructure financing, so we want to bring them on board to offer this financing so we can finish up the projects and hand them over to many Nigerians who need shelter.”

Osidi further noted that Nigeria, the second largest shareholder in the bank with about 15 per cent holding, will explore areas of funding to achieve its target of delivering 100,000 housing units to Nigerians this year.

He mentioned that the FMBN is currently reviewing previously abandoned memoranda of understanding that were signed with the organisation. This review aims to explore the benefits that Nigerians could gain from this renewed partnership.

Also speaking, the CEO of Shelter Afrique, Thierno-Habib Hann, said the organisation was in Nigeria to promote its development financing agenda and identify Nigeria as a destination for investments with over $25bn in Diaspora remittances each year.

He said, “We are ready to collaborate with FMBN and other institutions across Nigeria to address the housing gap. The challenges are there and the opportunities are also there. As a development finance institution, we are very well positioned to collaborate with the government of Nigeria and in this trip, we met all the leadership including the vice president of the Federal  Republic of Nigeria who is fully committed to driving the growth of the sector and invest more in the sector knowing that housing creates jobs.”

Meanwhile, the bank has said it collected about N100bn in remittances through the National Housing Fund in 2023.

The NHF scheme was established by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to facilitate the continuous flow of low-cost funds for long-term investment in housing, through 2.5 per cent monthly deductions from employees earning a basic salary.

The former FMBN Managing Director, Madu Hamman, stated this in his handover document obtained by our correspondent.

He said, “The highlight of our achievements in the last 22 months includes that for the first time, in 2023 the National Housing Fund collection for the bank exceeded the N100bn mark. This is the first time in the history of the bank that the annual collection exceeded N100bn.”

“You have to think deeply about how you’re going to be able to satisfy the demands of the numerous contributors to the scheme through various innovative ways of raising finance, which should include going outside the NHF because if we continue to rely on the NHF that would not be achievable.”

Chairman of the Board of Directors, FMBN, Ayodeji Gbeleyi, disclosed this during the commissioning ceremony of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation staff millennium mission planning and control station Ltd Estate at Emuren axis in Sagamu area of the state.

Gbeleyi said the decision was made in response to requests by the higher income-earning segment of NHF subscribers.

According to Gbeleyi, the increase in the mortgage loan limit demonstrates the bank’s commitment to delivering affordable housing to Nigerian workers, especially those in the public and private sectors who are contributors to the NHF scheme managed by the bank.

He added, “The scheme, established in 1992, enables workers to contribute 2.5 per cent of their monthly income and access loans to cater for their housing finance needs, such as outright purchase, self-construction, home renovation, and rent-to-ownership. More recently, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the NHF mortgage loan limit from N15m to N50m per applicant in response to requests by the higher income-earning segment of NHF subscribers.

The maximum loan limit, however, is subject to affordability based on the monthly development. I want to assure you of the monthly income of an applicant.”

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FMBN, Madu Hamman, said the 72-unit project was fully funded by the bank and was in fulfilment of the commitment to the homeownership dreams of Nigerian workers who are contributors to the National Housing Fund scheme.

The Elemuren of Emuren, Oba Adesegun Abolaji, eulogised the FMBN and LSDPC for the establishment of the housing estate. He promised that the community would provide security for lives and property and 50 more acres of land to support their efforts in bridging the housing gap in the country.

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the  Permanent Secretary on Housing, Kamar Olowoshago, commended the bank and the LSDPC for their commitment to the advancement of workers’ welfare and delivering the project promptly. He also called for more collaboration with FMBN to bridge the housing deficit gap in the state.

The states include Akure, Ondo state; Yola, Adamawa state; Katsina, Abakiliki, Ebonyi state; Damaturu, Yobe State; Sokoto, Maiduguri, Borno; as well as Kogi State.

The FMBN Managing Director, Hamman Madu, in a statement by the FMBN Group Head, Corporate Communications, Timan Elayo, on Tuesday, said the housing units are part of the over 3,560 homes under phases one and two of the national affordable housing delivery programme.

According to him, the housing scheme is a collaboration between the bank and the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association.

Madu explained that the collaboration was to build and deliver decent, safe, and quality housing for Nigerian workers at a price that they can afford.

“We are excited at the progress that we have made on the national affordable housing delivery programme. Indeed, it is a historic initiative as it marks the first time that FMBN and the organised labour and NECA are working together on the basis of a realistic and acceptable framework for delivering affordable housing to Nigerian workers,” Madu said.

He added that the stakeholders’ involvement and contributions to the project design make the scheme a fit-for-purpose tool that will deliver houses that workers can afford.