Akanle Oluwadunni and Atitebi Oluwatobi
The University of Lagos Centre for Housing & Sustainable Development (Unilag-CHSD), in conjunction with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) held its first ever NHF sensitization workshop last month.
The workshop, themed “Accessing the National Housing Fund (NHF) for new homes, housing completion, and improvement”, held online via Zoom.
According to the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, “The Unilag-CHSD’s collaboration with the FMBN is a strategic decision to help staff members of the corporation achieve their dreams of acquiring the enviable status of homeowners”.
He said the dearth of funds was a major setback to the efforts of many staff members to build their homes.
He, however, revealed that the FMBN is addressing the problem by providing affordable housing finance through the NHF scheme.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of FMBN, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, explained that “the NHF scheme is a mandatory contributing scheme into which Nigeria workers in the public and private sectors and self employed individuals earning a minimum of 3000 naira per annum contribute 2.5% of their income.”
“And on the basis of their continuous and up-to-date NHF contributions for a minimum period of 6months, they become eligible to enjoy a range of loans and products at concessionary terms etc, compared to what is obtainable in the open market.”
According to him, the goal of the NHF scheme, under the mandate of the FMBN, is to provide affordable house ownership as well as home completion and renovation or improvements for those within the low and medium income segment.
Ahmed disclosed his intention to work together with the university and aid its mission by providing their staff members and cooperative society members with opportunities for building funds.
He also expressed elation at the prospect of UNILAG joining the growing list of organizations whose staff and staff families are now proud homeowners through the NHF scheme.
The FMBN has extended construction loans to cooperative societies of the Federal University of Technology, Akure; University of Nsukka, Nsukka; Kaduna State University, Abu-Zaria; College of Education, Katsina; and Nigeria Union of Teachers, Ondo.
The mortgage bank has also provided building loans to fund the construction of teaching hospitals and research institutes.
It can be recalled that the FMBN signed a memorandum of understanding with the UNILAG Centre of Housing & Sustainable Development in 2018.
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The NHF scheme is worth it