FG Set To Inject N250bn Into FMBN

The Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Mr Gimba Ya’Kumo, has said that the federal government has concluded all necessary arrangements to recapitalize the apex mortgage bank to the tune of N250 billion while the bank reported generated N2.4 billion monthly from more than four million contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF) its low capital base, according to the report obtained by The Tide was inimical to its optimal performance.
Ya’kumo while fielding question from journalists at a dinner organized by the bank for its outgoing executive directors recently in Abuja, said though time was very essential in this regard, government has assured that the bank will soon be recapitalized with the said amount.
He said while the federal government was concentrating on setting other issues he expressed optimism that the promise would soon be made possible.
“What I have requested for is N250 billion even though we know that there are a lot of competing needs of government like security, education and roads,” he said.
He, however, said that the bank has made progress in re-absorbing the six states that have not been contributing to the NHF scheme.
“As at today we have only six states that are not in NHF, particularly Lagos State, but the workers there have formed co-operative societies and they are therefore contributing indirectly to the fund through their cooperatives.
The FMBN boss further stated that the bank was in touch with the remaining states, explaining that workers were noted for seeing physical structures and the mortgages.
According to him, with the effective implementation of all the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed, the bank would deliver over four million mortgages by 2019.
“The bank is working together with the various ministries of housing and private organizations to see that discount on some of the input that make up the raw materials components like cement comes to reality.
“Government is making efforts to reduce the cost of housing through the introduction of new building technology and reduction in building materials,” he said.