NCP okays commercialisation of FHA

 The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has approved the commercialisation of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

Ama Pepple, minister of lands, housing and urban development, was appointed to chair the steering committee constituted to work out details of the exercise.

This was one of the decisions taken at the third meeting of the council in 2013 which held on Thursday, May 9, 2013 in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The NCP noted that the decision was taken to address the huge housing deficit in the country.

The Federal Housing Authority (FHA), a parastatal under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, was established in 1973 and vested with the responsibility for preparation of a National Housing Programme and to execute such programmes as may be approved by the Federal Government from time to time.

FHA has a wholly-owned subsidiary, FHA Homes and Savings Limited, which serves as its primary mortgage institution (PMI) with the mandate to maintain savings and mortgage loan accounts of customers.

However, the noble objective of the Federal Government to use FHA and its subsidiary as vehicles for bringing affordable housing programmes to the doorsteps of the less privileged and low income earners in Nigeria has yet to be achieved.

Since inception about 40 years ago, the FHA has been able to build only about 37,000 housing units in 80 estates across the country (an average of less than 1000 houses per annum). Currently, the housing deficit in Nigeria is estimated at 17 million units.