Business
FMBN Promises Mortgage Sector Reforms
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.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with a firm, Sweetcrude Ltd., has announced detailed selection criteria for the inaugural “Champions of Nigerian Content Awards”, designed to honor outstanding contributions to local content development in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The Tide learnt that the event, scheduled to hold 21st May, 2025, at the NCDMB’S content tower headquarters in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State, will recognize individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing Nigerian Content in 2024.
The Tide further gathered that the ceremony will coincide with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF), which promises to spotlighting industry excellence and contributions to national economic transformation.
A statement by the Board’s Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination says the event has 12 Award Categories, which include, “Nigerian Content Icon of the Year”, “Nigerian Content Lifetime Achievement Award”, “Nigerian Content International Upstream Operator of the year”, and the “Nigerian Content Independent Upstream Operator of the year”.
Others are, “Nigerian Content Midstream Operator of the year”, “Nigerian Content Downstream Operator of the year”, “Nigerian Content International Service Company of the year”, Nigerian Content Indigenous Service Company of the year”, and the “Nigerian Content Innovator of the year”.
Also included are, “Nigerian Content Financial Services Provider of the year”, “Nigerian Content Media Organization of the year”, and “Women in Leadership Award for Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment”.
According to the NCDMB, the criteria for oil and gas operators will include key and empirical benchmarks such as Production output for crude oil and gas volumes, Compliance with Nigerian Content Plans (NCPs) and Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCCs).
Other criteria are adherence to NOGICD Act reporting requirements, such as submission of Nigerian Content Performance Reports and Employment & Training Plans.
The Board’s statement added that similar criteria will apply to financial institutions, media organizations, and individuals, ensuring a transparent and merit-based selection process.
“Winners for the Nigerian Content Icon of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Women in Leadership Award will also be selected based on measurable performance indicators.
“The Advisory Committee of Industry Titans will Oversee the process to uphold the prestige of awards. The Committee consist of distinguished experts set up to oversee nominations and validate winners”, the NCDMB said.
Members of the committee, according to the Board, include: Pioneer Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Dr. Ernest Nwapa; Secretary-General, African Petroleum Producers Organization, Dr. Omar Farouk; and former Zonal Operations Controller, DPR, Mr. Woke Akinyosoye.
The Statement quoted the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, as emphasizing that the awards aim to becoming the oil and gas sector’s equivalent of the Oscars, celebrating genuine impact rather than mere participation.
“This recognition is reserved for those who have gone beyond compliance to drive tangible growth in Nigerian Content.
“With a focus on credibility, compliance, and measurable impact, the Champions of Nigerian Content Awards is poised to set a new standard for excellence in Nigeria’s energy sector”, the NCDMB Executive Scribe said.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Nigeria’s apex Banking institution, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has declared that Federal Government’s debt servicing increased to N696billion in January 2025.
The CBN’s recently published Economic Report revealed a precarious fiscal position, which worsened in January 2025 as debt servicing obligations exceeded total retained revenue by a wide margin.
According to the report, the Federal Government’s debt servicing obligations for the month stood at N696.27bn, while total retained revenue amounted to only N483.47bn, indicating that debt service alone consumed about 144 per cent of all government earnings.
This development highlights the growing debt burden and dwindling fiscal space facing Africa’s largest economy.
According to the report, despite slight improvements in some revenue categories, the retained earnings were grossly inadequate to cover obligatory debt repayments, exposing the government’s continued reliance on borrowing to meet basic obligations.
The report further revealed that retained revenue in January 2025 only recorded a marginal 0.89 per cent increase when compared with the N479.21bn generated in the corresponding month of 2024.
”FGN retained revenue declined in the review period, owing largely to lower receipts from Federal Government Independent Revenue and FGN’s share of exchange gain.
“At N0.48tn, provisional FGN retained revenue was 69.19 and 70.40 per cent below the levels recorded in the preceding period and monthly target, respectively”, it revealed.
While this points to stagnation rather than growth, the marginal rise was wiped out by the overwhelming debt service obligations.
The retained revenue components showed that the Federation Account contributed N167.69bn, while the VAT Pool Account delivered N90.73bn.
By: Corlins Walter
The Federal Government has announced plans to commence the payment of the outstanding N35,000 wage award arrears owed workers in the Federal Civil Service.
A statement issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), which was signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, said the outstanding arrears will be paid in instalments, with workers set to receive N35,000 per month for five months.
It clarified that the first tranche of the wage award arrears would be released immediately after the April salary payment.
“The wage award arrears was not paid with the April 2025 salary; it will come immediately after the salary is paid”, the statement read.
The Federal Government had earlier disbursed wage awards to federal workers for five months as part of efforts to cushion the impact of economic reforms. However, five months’ arrears remained unpaid.
The AGF office further reiterated the government’s commitment to fully implementing all policies and agreements relating to staff remuneration and welfare, noting that such efforts were geared towards enhancing productivity and operational efficiency across ministries, departments, and agencies.
The N35,000 wage award was introduced in 2023 as a palliative measure to support workers following the removal of the petrol subsidy and other economic adjustments.
In January this year, the Federal Government assured workers that it would clear the arrears of the N35,000 wage award, just as it also said the government had resumed the payment of the wage award.
The government also reiterated its commitment to addressing issues in the National Minimum Wage agreement reached with the Organised Labour in 2023.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, had disclosed the government’s commitment towards implementing agreements with trade unions during separate meetings with the leadership of the Trade Union Congress and Congress of University Academics, in Abuja.
The Nigeria Labour Congress had criticised the Federal Government over the delay in the payment of the minimum wage for certain workers in the federal civil service.
Also, the Federal Government had earlier blamed the delay in payment on the prolonged approval of the 2025 budget.
By: Corlins Walter