N200bn intervention fund: FHF, states fine-tune processes to deliver 14,000 housing units

Fresh fact has emerged that the Family Homes Fund is working assiduously with the  state governments to finance about 14,000 housing units in the first tranche of the  implementation of the Federal Government’s N200 billion Intervention Fund for the housing sector.

According to the Managing Director, Family Homes Fund, Mr Femi Adewole, in an interview, funding of the project would commence immediately all necessary enabling agreements are completed.

He said: “We are working primarily first, with the state governments. We expect in the first tranche that close to 14,000 housing units to be financed immediately we finalise the enabling legal agreements.

“Once that happens, I think we expect to see much accelerated number of housing projects across all regions of the country. Those projects  are already there, we already worked on them, they are awaiting funding, and I think  once  we complete all these agreements over the next one week, we will see a big start.”

Leveraging the support from all the states, he disclosed that the organisation has secured more than 2,500 hectares of land across the 26 states of the federation, adding “the number is increasing on daily basis.’

On the possibility of constructing a house not more than N2 million naira  for low-income Nigerian, who earns N30,000 monthly, Adewole expressed optimism about the project, saying he was ready to explore financial instruments and form relationship with suppliers of building materials to  achieve that target.

According to him, people must be prioritised over a process, adding that it has become imperative that a large number of people that are earning such a low-income must be housed.

“So we must start the discussion from there. As a person, this is where I want to start the discussion. It is not how must it costs the developer to build the house, but I want to start the discussion on what do we need to do to ensure that 80 per cent of Nigerians who are on low-income can be housed?,’ he said.

To achieve the target, the FHF boss said he has been developing a relationship with suppliers of building materials and talking to cement manufacturers with the bid for bulk buying while securing discounts.

Adewole said: “We can do that for cement, roofing sheets, paint works, window profiles and a lot of others. We are making sure that we are using local materials. We are working with architects to improve the efficiency of the designs. We are hoping to work with developers who see that the primary objective is to ensure that Nigerians on low-income have a house that is affordable to them.

“Our objective is that by 2023, at the end of the program, we have at least about 95 per cent input in the local materials. That involves changing how we design things in relation to the materials we use.”

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