The Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has said that the National Assembly will support the efforts of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria in providing affordable housing for all Nigerians.
He gave the assurance during a courtesy visit to the Managing Director of Federal Mortgage Bank, Mr. Garba Kumo, in his office.
He said, “When people live in shanties, they are prone to committing crimes, but when people live in a respectable atmosphere, they behave like human beings.
“Therefore, the Mortgage Bank must come in to ensure that Nigerians are given the opportunity to live like human beings by giving them the type of houses, which they deserve as inhabitants of a respectable nation and there is no way that will be achieved without mortgage.
“I want to assure you of our support and cooperation to ensure that the exercise you are carrying on now is fully implemented to give Nigerians the benefit to own houses of their own and live in decent environment.”
The Managing Director, FMBN, said that the bank would from February next year begin the pilot construction of 1,000 houses in each geopolitical zone.
He said, “As a way of contributing to the Nigerian economy, we are now building about 1,000 houses in each of the six geopolitical zones. We will start with Abuja and it will take up by February.
“It will be a self-sustaining settlement with electricity, water, roads and all the conveniences of life. If it works very well, we intend to replicate it in all 36 states.”
He said the new management of the bank had been able to increase the stock of estate development loan by 30 per cent, adding that the NHF loan also rose by 35 per cent within the last two years.
He said, “Since we came in, we have been able to put in place some basic things that will now improve the mortgage in Nigeria. What we did is to encourage the other sectors of Nigerian community that are not in the formal employment, the informal sector.”
