It is good news for civil servants as the federal government says houses being built and commissioned under the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme will be allocated to benefiting workers using the Federal Mortgage of Nigeria’s (FMBN’s) rent-to-own housing scheme.
The new housing scheme makes it possible for workers to move into their homes and pay conveniently via monthly or yearly rentals over a maximum of 30-year period at 9 percent interest rate. Another key feature of the scheme is the elimination of the need for equity payment and other costs associated with a typical mortgage transaction.
All completed and ongoing FMBN-funded estates in over 20 states are for the rent-to-own scheme for contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF).
Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of Service of the Federation (HOSF), commended the management of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for developing and introducing the innovative scheme to ease the financial burden of home ownership for Nigerian workers and increase access to affordable housing.
Oyo-Ita spoke recently at the public presentation of the FISH Handbook on processes and procedures of the programme for both civil and public servants, and the new corporate website in Abuja.
“The FMBN rent-to-own housing product provides a fantastic payment option for civil servants by making it possible for them to move into their homes and pay conveniently over long periods with monthly rent”, the HOSF noted.
She also commended Ahmed Dangiwa, the CEO of FMBN, for his support and commitment to the FISH programme, a scheme established to facilitate the provision of quality and affordable housing for federal civil servants through strategic partnership with government agencies and private real estate developers.
The HOSF disclosed that the office of the Head of Service’s strategic funding partnership with FMBN was for the provision of off-taker support finance in the form of loans and mortgage finance to civil servants for the purchase of houses offloaded on the programme at single digit rates.
The FMBN’s flagship contribution to the FISH programme includes the ABSI FMBN funded estate in Kuje 2, which comprises 83 housing units of 2-bedrooms apartments. The estate was commissioned in December 2018 and keys to the houses were given to the Head of Service of the Federation for handover to beneficiaries.
Dangiwa expressed delight at FMBN’s association with the FISH programme, saying, “in our own way at FMBN, we are actively committed to seeing to the success of the FISH programme through the provision of mortgage loans from the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme and the offer of some of our completed estates for the take-off of the programme.
“We have also enhanced the mortgage affordability level of Nigerian workers by eliminating the need for down-payment for mortgage loans of N5 million and below and a reduction to 10 percent flat rate for loans above N5million to N15 million from the initial 20 percent and 30 percent”.
The CEO also commended Oyo-Ita and urged federal civil servants to key-in and take advantage of the NHF and the FISH programme so they can become home owners.
CHUKA UROKO
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