Business
Minister Tasks Union On Housing Finance
The Minister of Power,
Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has charged African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) to put in place a mechanism that will promote appropriate housing construction finance schemes.
Fashola gave the charge on Wednesday in Abuja at the 2016 Annual Conference and General Meeting of the African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF).
The Minister was represented by Director Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the ministry, Mrs Eucharia Alozie.
The conference was organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).
AUHF is an association of 56 Mortgage Banks, Building Societies, Microfinance Institutions, Housing Corporations and organisations involved in mobilising funds for shelter and housing in Africa.
Fashola, in his address, identified lack of access to construction finance by housing developers and high risk in current mortgage finance structure as major bottlenecks in the housing sector.
According to him, these challenges do not support the buying-off of houses to enable developers recoup their investments on time.
“Lack of housing finance in the public and corporate institutions and double digit housing loans are the major challenges in the industry.”
He further identified land for housing, population explosion, high cost of building materials, inflation that brings about unemployment and decreased purchasing power of the low and medium income earners as other bottlenecks.
He, however, added that Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the NMRC were established to help in reducing the cost of mortgage loan by improving market efficiency.
He further added that from inception of government initiative in organised housing finance system to date, only a meagre sum had been injected to the system.
“This accounts for less than 0.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as compared to other climes like UK and South Africa among others’’.
This, he said, was due to the inability of financial systems in providing low cost finance that meets the need of low and medium income earners.
The minister stressed that the FMBN as the secondary mortgage institution, should be strengthened by ensuring full compliance with the National Housing Fund (NHF) Act by affected stakeholders.
He said that housing was believed to be a long- term investment and should be protected against high inflation and unpredictable economic down turn.
Fashola, while commending NMRC and other partners on advancing investment in affordable housing, said that the political will of the present administration in housing sector agenda had been further invigorated by the conference.
He further lauded stakeholders and African experts for coming together to proffer solutions to the age long challenge of providing housing finance for Africans, especially Nigerians who were facing harsh economic challenges.
He, however, said that housing was central to the present administration’s policy trust, adding that the conference was timely as Nigeria needed aggressive unleashing of new housing finance investments and opportunities.
AUHF Chairman, Dr Oscar, Mgaya, earlier said that the union was working hard to connect members to the progress of policy and opportunities for investment and growth in their own local context.
Mgaya said that the union was also focused on mobilising fund for shelter in Africa from 17 different countries across the continent.
According to him, the conference will be drafting an “Abuja Declaration’’, which will propose way forward in housing development in Africa.
The goals of AUHF are to promote and facilitate housing finance and unlocking its multiplier effects on national economies with a view to ensuring Africa’s economic growth.
The three-day conference which has its theme as “Housing Africa’s Growth Agenda’’ is sponsored by its media partner, Fesadeb Communications Ltd,. organisers of annual Abuja Housing Show and producer of housing programmes.
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