The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has reiterated its commitment to provide the necessary support to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in a bid to revolutionise the Nigerian housing sector.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, gave the assurance when the leadership of the bank, led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr. Madu Hamman, paid a visit to the ministry last weekend.
Assuring FMBN of the ministry’s backing to surmount the challenges confronting it, so as to facilitate smooth operations leading to the overall success of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the housing sector, Ogunbiyi urged the FMBN to fully key into the laudable ideas of the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, for the housing sector.
According to him, this would have direct bearing on the actualisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda for the housing sector.
The visit was scheduled to allow the FMBN brief the newly assigned permanent secretary on its activities.
Dr. Ogunbiyi acknowledged the central role of the FMBN in ensuring the welfare of Nigerian workers, noting that “When you remove shelter from the list of workers’ challenges, they can manage every other thing. This briefing has given me a clearer picture of what the FMBN does and how. We know the bank is working. We know the bank has products. We know the bank has challenges”.
Earlier, Managing Director of the FMBN congratulated Dr. Ogunbiyi on his appointment and resumption of duty as permanent secretary of the Housing Ministry.
Hamman took the permanent secretary through a mental tour of the FMBN, focusing on the mandate and responsibilities, organogram, significant developments, achievements and challenges confronting the bank.
He reiterated the commitment of the FMBN to providing affordable housing for the Nigerian people, as enshrined in the National Housing Fund (NHF) Act, which mandates the bank to collect, manage and administer the National Housing Fund.
“The bank is empowered by the FMBN Act to provide long-term credit facilities to mortgage institutions in Nigeria at such rates and terms as may be determined by the board in accordance with the policy directed by the Federal Government.”
