The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) said it has disbursed a total loan of N455,132,753,921.72 billion between 1992 and October 2024, a period of 42 years.
Also, between January and October 2024, the bank, according to its Managing Director, Shehu Osidi, disbursed loan worth N29,506,434,408.93 billion.
Regarding the National Housing Fund (NHF) refunds, Osidi said that N91,184,327,429.81 had been refunded since inception, with N12,183,387,615.81 refunded during the same 10-month period.
He added that since its inception in 1992 up to October 2024, the scheme had registered 5,858,136 contributors, with 166,926 out of that figure registered between January and October 2024.
The managing director made this disclosure during an interactive session between the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development and the bank at the Senate Complex of the National Assembly in Abuja.
The Committee convened the session to review the 2025 budgets of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and its agencies, following the budget presentation by President Bola Tinubu in December 2024.
Osidi also highlighted key milestones of the bank, including compliance with the NHF contributory scheme by 35 states and the FCT, process improvements to eliminate bottlenecks, provision of housing for civil servants through the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme, automation of processes, and updates to the bank’s financial records.
However, the managing director identified several challenges impeding the bank’s operations, such as low capitalization, CBN’s prudential guidelines on single obligor limits, obsolete FMBN and NHF Acts, and compliance with the NHF Act.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Sen. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, reiterated the Committee’s commitment to the recapitalization of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and review of obsolete laws affecting its operations.
The committee also praised the leadership efforts of the bank’s managing director in providing access to affordable housing in spite of the lingering challenges.
Sen. Tambuwal highlighted the significance of the meeting as a reaffirmation of the committee’s collective commitment to transparency, accountability and judicious management of public resources allocated to the critical housing sector.
“This is a crucial aspect as it reflects the financial discipline, resource optimisation and self-sustaining capacities of these entities,” he stated, adding that discharging the responsibility would ensure prudent resource management and alignment of the budget to national development objectives.
He echoed the Committee’s readiness to work with the bank to resolve the issues impeding its progress, committing to organizing a special sitting between the bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to resolve the issue of non-fulfillment of shareholding obligation.
“Rest assured that you have our support and backing,” he said.
The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Victor Umeh, expressed concern over the delayed recapitalization of FMBN, emphasizing the urgency of resolving the bank’s financial challenges.
“We should tackle the major problem of this bank, and that is mobilizing it with resources. The government should be made to understand that the N500 billion which was suggested more than one year ago has not been provided,” he stated.
Senator Abdul Ningi commended the bank’s efforts so far in providing access to affordable housing, urging for more engagement with the Committee towards resolving its challenges, while Senator Seriake Dickson, urged the bank to expand access to rural areas, emphasizing that housing should be for all Nigerians and not only for urban dwellers.
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