FG assures Nigerians of affordable housing

The Federal Government has assured Nigerians aiming to get their own housing accommodation to keep hope alive because its determination to provide affordable housing was realizable.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Senator Gbenga Ashafa, who gave the assurance during the official handing over of house keys to the National Housing Fund (NHF) beneficiaries at Belham Estate, Karsana, Abuja, said the government was ready to provide adequate funding for housing development.

The estate was built by BAM projects and properties with the support from the Federal Housing Authority Mortgage Bank, FHAMB. Senator Ashafa, however, cautioned Nigerians against criticizing the Federal Government’s policies and programmes on housing without patronizing them.

Ashafa, who said the FG was committed to affordable housing and added that adequate funding would hasten the process. He, however, called on Nigerians to form cooperative societies with a view to hastening access to the housing mortgage packages and assured that the facility is available to all working-class Nigerians irrespective of status. He said: “It has been demonstrated in what we are seeing now. We have to do a lot of awareness to let Nigerians know that you can’t sit in your house and complain that nothing is coming to you.

“Hope you be kept alive and if you want to try me, you should go through a cooperative society that has applied for a mortgage loan and see whether you will benefit or not. “We are asking Nigerians just to test the water. Even if you have financial incapability to an extent, something can be worked out for you in a manner that its extension will be beneficial.

“Nobody is saying that you will buy the house free of charge. I want to congratulate the present administration for finding a room to assist Nigerians in this area.”

In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, Arch. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, called on private developers to key into the FG’s funding for mortgaged housing through FHAMB.

Also, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FHAMB, Hayatuddeen Atiku Awwal, said his agency is a business entity that is committed to the provision of the affordable housing in Nigeria.

Source: Vanguard