Mortgage loans worth N58 billion were disbursed by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to 23, 600 recipients between April 2017 and March 2019, the Group Head, Corporate Communications FMBN, Zubaida Umar, has said.
A statement signed by Umar disclosed that N58 billion loan disbursement tallies with the agency’s efforts to enhance service delivery and widen the access of Nigerian workers to its affordable housing solutions.
According to Umar, the amount covered the National Housing Fund Mortgage loans worth N22.3 billion distributed to 3, 171 Nigerian workers; Home Renovation Loans worth N16.9 billion to 20, 429 workers and Estate Development loans valued at N13.6 billion.
The FMBN chief further disclosed that a sum of N2.7 billion was disbursed as Cooperative Development Loans and another N2.5 billion for Ministerial Pilot Scheme Project.
The average amount disbursed between April 2017 and March 2019, which stood at N29 billion per annum, represents a whopping 360 percent increase over N6.3 billion disbursed annually in a 24-year period spanning between 1992 and April 2017.
FMBN also recorded improved performance with regards to processing of applications for refunds of contributions to the National Housing Fund (NHF) by workers who have retired from service. “The company successfully processed 120, 759 refund cases and paid out a total of N16.5 billion between April 2017 and 2019,” the bank said in the statement.
The amount realised from NHF refunds, which settled at N16.5 billion, outpaced the total of N10.8 billion recorded between 1992 and April 2017. In the last 24 months to March 2019, the company financed the construction of 6, 358 housing units nationwide.
Commenting on the impressive result, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Dangiwa, said that the result is a reflection of management’s efforts to reposition FMBN on the path of greater professionalism, responsiveness, and impact.
The statement quoted him to have said: “I am indeed very pleased with the remarkable results that we have been able to achieve in about two years since we were appointed to run the affairs of the bank.”
The FMBN helmsman maintained that the bettered result underscores the confidence reposed by the Buhari administration on management’s capacity to revamp the bank as a potent agency to curb the country’s prolonged housing deficit.
