About 469 low-income families were on Monday taken off the crowded housing market in Nigeria as President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned a new estate financed by the Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL).
The estate is a new addition to the over 15,000 homes the Funds has financed their development in the last five years of its inception as an intervention in the social housing programme of the federal government.
Given an average of five persons per family, it means that the Funds have provided homes for 2,345 persons, thus narrowing the housing deficit, particularly in Kano, where the estate is situated.
For the ancient city whose housing deficit is about 500,000—600,000 units according to a study conducted by Olusegun Ajanlekoko, a quantity surveyor, 469 housing units are a significant reduction in that deficit.
The Funds, which started operation in 2017, have financed the development of homes for low-Income earners across some states in Nigeria, including Delta, Ogun, Kano, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Yobe, Bauchi, Borno and Adamawa.
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Suleiman Barau, the Fund’s current board chairman, said that apart from the 15, 000 homes it has financed, the Funds have caused over 80,000 jobs to be created in the process of delivering those homes.
In pursuit of its objectives, the funds recently secured N10 billion under the N30 billion Sukuk Issuance Programme. The expectation is that the net proceeds from the Sukuk programme will finance new homes for Nigerians on a low income.
Former MD/ CEO of the Funds, Femi Adewole, hoped that the Sukuk issuance would contribute to their objective of developing up to 200,000 homes by the end of 2022, noting that the issuance was a major impetus to the Funds’ vision to transform the housing market by making safe, decent housing accessible to Nigerians on a low income.
Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, hoped too that the Sukuk Issuance would strengthen the Funds’ dedication to its core principles and expand its ability to offer wider opportunities for millions of Nigerians who rely on them to realize their home ownership dreams.
It is for these reasons that Barau said the commissioning of the 469 homes was significant, thanking President Buhari for taking the time to commission the estate for families on a low income.
“We also thank the President for the establishment of an important company like Family Homes Funds that is playing a very crucial role in the federal government’s social intervention programmes focused on poverty alleviation across Nigeria,” the chairman said.
He also thanked Ahmed for her leadership and guidance which are inspiring the Funds, adding that the minister supports and encourages the Funds to be innovative, which is why it is one of the important government institutions delivering affordable homes and creating jobs for Nigerians.
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