Association urges states to access $300bn World Bank funds for housing delivery

Determined to ensure that housing shortage is being bridged in Nigeria as a result of financing, State government agencies saddled with the responsibility of housing provisions under the aegis of the Association of Housing Corporation of Nigeria (AHCN), have resolved to take advantage of the $300 billion World Bank funds for the Nigeria Housing Finance Programme (NHFP).

Speaking on the need for the actualisation of accessing the fund, President of Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN), Muhammed Baba Adamu and General Secretary,Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), Mr. Olusola Martins, at the associations’ forum in Owerri, Imo state, recently said the Corporation  has already drawn about $120million from the fund.

However, to ensure that the goal of affordable housing provision is achieved, the forum called on the state governments to support their housing agencies to access the funds, this, they argued, would fast track the goal of bridging the deficits in thehousing sector.

Justifying the need for the fund, Adamu, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Niger StateHousing Corporation (NSHC), pointed out that the nation’s mortgage system is still underdeveloped in driving home-ownership, noting that more than 90 per cent of new homes utilized funds from personal savings for incremental construction cost.

“More than 90 per cent of new homes utilise funds from personal savings for incremental construction of which overall mortgages account for less than one per cent of  the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and real estate accounts for just about 8 per cent, as opposed to 35 per cent and 65 per cent respectively in other developing and developed economies of the world,” he said.

The AHCN boss, stated that the property market in Nigeria is huge and has capacity to contribute about 15 per cent to the GDP and employ  five to seven million people with its multiplier effects if well-structured and harnessed.

He, therefore, called for the recapitalisation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and harmonization of the bank with NMRC to create a friendly robust mortgage system with the AHCN for development of affordable housing for Nigerians.

However,  stakeholders at the forum, which comprised CEOs of state housing agencies, have called on the Minister of Power, Works andHousing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to engage them in the execution of the planned  17,000 housing units in each  state of the federation and  FCT under the National Housing Programme (NHP).

Besides, they also enjoined the minister to ensure that local building materials are used for thehousing project, adding that  efficient building technologies from the Nigerian Building  and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) should be engaged, this they said is capable of bringing down prices of thehousing units and make them affordable.

It was commendation galore for NNBRRI, for its various research works and development over the years,  which stakeholders said  have culminated in the discovery and development of  Interlocking Cement Stabilize Earthly Blocks (ICESEBs) and production of Pozzolana cements.