The League of Civil Society Groups, a coalition of Civil Society Groups in Nigeria has commended the management of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) under the leadership of Ahmed Dangiwa on the recovery of over N1billion debt as well as the funding of estate projects in Oyo, Osun states and Abuja.
Mukhtar Akoshile, the League’s National Secretary, LCSG noted that the new board of FMBN took over at a time when confidence in the scheme was at its lowest ebb evidenced by the very low participation in the mortgage system in Nigeria.
“The management of Arc. Dangiwa inherited over 80 abandoned estates which are in at different stages of completion and mortgages to the public. One of such estates, of over 200 homes, in Gwagwalada, Abuja, has been occupied by University of Abuja staff.
“The management is repositioning the bank to fulfil its mandate of “raising long term financing for delivery to contributors. The management has delivered on this mandate within the framework of a policy thrust of good corporate governance and transparency. Management has drafted a robust risk management framework while doing cost containment.
“The new management, within its short time in office has also made recoveries of debt running into hundreds of millions of naira, as part of their target of recovering N1 billion before the end of the year, to further strengthen the pool of available loanable funds.
“The management has also ensured the reduction of processing and payment time for contributions to the National Housing Fund, from the 90 days provided for in the law to 30 days,” he said.
The league also urged all stakeholders in the housing sector to engage in aggressive awareness and enlightenment campaign to increase the volume of participation to a level commensurate with the size of the nation’s economy.
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While urging the National Assembly to speed up the process of amending the FMBN establishment Act to ensure better delivery of service to Nigerians in meeting their housing needs and eliminating the housing deficit in Nigeria, the League urged all the States that have stopped making contributions into the scheme, to reconsider their positions in the interest of millions of workers.
“The CBN should also ensure, as the regulator of the banking sector in Nigeria, that banks meet their obligation as enshrined in the law to invest 10percent of loans in NHF. Contributions of insurance companies should also be made available to the FMBN as provided by law, and NAICOM should ensure that it meets its obligation to collect these funds and remit to FMBN.
“We commend Mr. President for appointing the right people into the management of the FMBN and urge him to support the bank further to jumpstart and help diversify the economy as a vibrant housing sector has the capacity to provide countless jobs for Nigerians,” Akoshile noted.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
