Business

FMBN Promises Mortgage Sector Reforms

Published

15 years ago

February 4, 2011

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) will unfold reforms aimed at boosting housing delivery in Nigeria.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumo, who disclosed this during a meeting with national executive council of Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), said that the bank’s management was working on increasing the share capital of the bank to between N50 billion and N100 billion for a start.

A new capital base will place the FMBN in a better position to refinance mortgages, as it cannot meet the larger part of demands for mortgage loans from its various stakeholders at the moment.

Kumo said that a number of mortgage sector bills were receiving attention at the National Assembly, and those bills, when passed, would facilitate access to land and the general process of housing delivery.

Elaborating on the bills, Mr. Newman Ordia, FMBN executive director, Policy and Strategy/Loans Set-Up and Pay Off, said that the issue of Land Use Act had been adequately addressed in the bills, and it was expected that the lawmakers would act on the bills soon.

The Managing Director promised MBAN that the problems associated with the Land Use Act would be addressed, as indeed the Land Use Act was the most daunting challenge facing the mortgage industry.

He assured that PMIs would get mortgage loans within the ambit of the law. He also pledged to place NHF funds in PMIs, as the institutions were indeed the legs of mortgage delivery in Nigeria.

Kumo said that FMBN regarded MBAN as key partners in housing delivery, and promised that his management would work closely with the PMIs to usher in a new era in housing delivery in Nigeria.

He enjoined the morgage sector stakeholders to give the FMBN some time, noting that in the next six months, they would notice a lot of improvements in housing delivery in Nigeria.

The FMBN boss implored all PMIs and Real Estate Developers that took loans from the FMBN for construction of houses to always acknowledge in their advertisements that the FMBN financed their housing projects. He remarked that this was necessary because a lot had been achieved in housing delivery by the FMBN in the past, but members of the public were largely not aware of this.

He announced that the erstwhile technical committee involving the FMBN, MBAN and Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) would be reconstituted and revived to harmonise issues that would take housing delivery to a new height. He assured that the recommendations of the committee would form the basis for a policy committee to work out new policies for the mortgage sector stakeholders.

Mr. Mike Nwogbo, FMBN executive director, Organisation Resourcing, added that the FMBN website was upgraded to serve contributors to the NHF and other stakeholders better.

Earlier, the Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN) had advocated some far reaching reforms in the mortgage industry in order to enable players in the industry deliver more houses to Nigerians.

The association led by its President, Mr. Abimbola Olayinka, implored the FMBN to push for the removal of the Land Use Act from the 1999 Constitution. He argued that the removal of the Act from the Constitution would pave way for its quick amendment, which is urgently needed in the mortgage industry.

The Land Use Act has been roundly criticized as a major hindrance to housing delivery in Nigeria, as the Act makes access to land a daunting, if not an impossible, task for most Nigerians.

Olayinka equally urged the FMBN to place National Housing Fund (NHF) money as deposits in Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) rather than just in commercial banks. The MBAN president as well prayed the FMBN to allow PMIs to collect NHF from employers of labour, remarking that such a gesture would help in marketing of the NHF and boost collection of the fund.

He called for the recapitalisation of FMBN to create more depth in the mortgage industry and improve housing delivery in the country. Olayinka argued that lack of depth was responsible for why the FMBN could not meet all the mortgage loan requests before it. The MBAN president said that the bank needed to recapitalise in order to be in a position to finance mortgages brought to it by PMIs.

Olayinka said that the FMBN also needed to update its website to enable NHF contributors have their records online.

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

3 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

3 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

1 week ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.