The Senate on Wednesday expressed over the Federal Government’s M150billion investment in the real estate fund at the expense of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN’s) capital share.
The government through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) had subscribed to the N150 billion series 1 offering under the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) as the sponsor and anchor investor.
According to a statement by the ministry, the development marked a major step towards addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit and expanding access to affordable homeownership.
But the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, said the Red Chamber finds it absurd that the Federal Government “is funding MOFI with over N150billion, while they’re yet to pay their Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) Capital share.”
He spoke in Lagos during the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development 2025 sector retreat with the theme “Actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Development: Examining Strategies, Identifying Opportunities to Boost Scale and Impact.”
Tambuwal expressed the Senate’s commitment to supporting FMBN in its recapitalisation efforts to enhance its capacity to deliver affordable housing to Nigerians and reduce the national housing deficit.
He also spoke of the efforts of his committee to reinstate the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in the Federal budget in order to allow it to replicate past successes such as FESTAC Town and Gwarimpa Estate.
“Similarly, we are committed to supporting the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in its recapitalization efforts to enhance its capacity to deliver affordable housing to Nigerians and reduce the national housing deficit.
“We find it absurd that Federal Government of Nigeria is funding MOFI with over N150billion, while they are yet to pay their FMBN Capital share,” Tambuwal said.
The former Sokoto State governor said the Senate and the National Assembly will continue to collaborate with the Ministry, its agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure that housing initiatives align with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration and international best practices.
He said: “A key part of achieving this agenda is the funding of priority projects to enable the Ministry to discharge its mandate effectively.
“These include initiatives such as the Renewed Hope City and Estates Programme, the National Housing Programme, the construction and rehabilitation of Federal Secretariats, and the settlement of outstanding liabilities to local contractors, among others.”
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, said the majority of Nigeria’s 43 million households are living in substandard housing, underscoring the huge housing deficit.
According to him, the housing sector is one that has suffered political neglect since the period immediately after independence, when emphasis was placed on five-yearly Development Plans as the vehicle for economic growth.
He said: “Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President, we are determined to make a difference. We are optimistic and encouraged by the possibilities that the future holds, rather than the failures of the past. Just because programs failed in the past does not mean they will fail today.”
Dangiwa said within 19 months, the current administration has developed 14 active construction sites for a total of 10,112 housing units.
“However, history is not our reference point. The size of the housing problem, which requires us to build at least 500,000 housing units annually, is what we have set our eyes on.”
Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Urban Development and Regional Planning, Hon Abiante Awaji, called for a multi sectoral and multidisciplinary approach in solving the housing challenge in Nigeria.
