The Nigerian government has withheld a whopping US$ 278m allocated for the purposes of Housing and Urban Development. The funds have apparently not been released to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).
The Chairman Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Barnabas Gemade confirmed the reports and said that the funds were allocated in the 2017 Budget as intervention fund, to support mortgage activities in the country.
He has further urged the Bank to liaise with the supervisory Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing, and the Ministry of Finance, to ensure that the funds are released.
However, The FMBN Managing Director, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, pointed out that since the establishment of the Bank, it has not received any budgetary appropriation from the Federal Government, and therefore relies solely on income generated from contributors under the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme to finance its activities.
Also, The Federal Government of Nigeria recently pledged quick disbursement of funds to hasten ongoing construction of houses under the National Housing Programme (NHP).
The Federal Government is steadfastly determined to bridge the national housing gap that most citizens are currently experiencing in the country.
