To create more awareness about the National Housing, a real estate development firm, Toby Kemsworth Investment Limited, says it is in close talks with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Fund, which will enable more Nigerians to key into the homeownership scheme.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Adekunle Raphael-Monehin, stated this during a press briefing held in Lagos recently.
Raphael-Monehin said the company would target handing out 500 keys in 2022 as part of efforts to tackle the housing deficit in the country and provide affordable homes to the Nigerian public.
He said, “Everybody knows that there is a housing deficit in this country. If you live in your own home, you will actually understand what it takes to achieve that.”
“This has brought us into partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank in the area of providing affordable housing, and those they have as subscribers to NHF.”
Monehin added, “Nigeria is a very wonderful place. It is our country. So, we are trying to make it a better place. So, we try to pool some packages with some organisations where this provision for mass housing and affordable housing can be made easy. We are going to be doing a lot this year with the FMBN on the NHF whereby subscribers to the fund can own their own homes.”
Noting that the basic challenge in addressing the homeownership problem in the country was to close the communication gap and enlighten more people on the benefits of subscribing to the NHF, Raphael-Monehin said that the company had established a cooperative organisation, whose members are automatic contributors to the NHF fund.
“Every citizen of this country is qualified for this scheme, and the NHF is pool funds. The Nigerian Army is contributing N1.2tn monthly (to the NHF fund), Nigerian Navy N1.82tn. How many houses are being built? The Nigerian Ports Authority is there. The Nigerian Police Force is there. All these people are contributors. So, the funds are there, but if we don’t have you to key in, we can’t access that fund. We know what to do by way of packaging your mortgage.”
“No matter the level of your income, I want to believe that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is ready to run the race with you. The major challenge that may come up maybe your age, but at the end of the day, if the organisation gives you 5 million mortgages, it may spread it to 20 or 30 years in a way that makes it easy for you to pay back; and it is a single-digit (interest rate) between five per cent to nine per cent.”
