FG announces it has built 26,002 houses across the country

The federal government has said it spent N197bn on the construction of 26,002 houses across the country.

The managing director of the federal mortgage bank of Nigeria, Ahmed Dangiwa, who made the disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday, August 14, said part of the funds was also used for the renovation of 13,953 houses nationwide.

Dangiwa said the federal government was committed to affordable housing for citizens, but noted that funding, access to land title and the cost of infrastructure were still major challenges affecting the sector.

The managing director stated that FMBN plans to enhance home affordability and eliminate down payments and other costs associated with mortgage loan arrangements within the third quarter of this year through the rolling out of several products.

Dangiwa said the federal government’s plan was targeted at various housing estates currently being constructed, adding that the projects were expected to inject over 2,000 housing units into the housing stock by 2020.

“The Rent-to-Own product designed to enhance affordability by eliminating the need for down payments and other costs associated with normal mortgage loan arrangements has also been approved and set to be rolled out within the third quarter of 2018,” Dangiwa said.

Meanwhile, statistics from the Debt Management Office (DMO) have indicated that the debt owed by the federal government, state governments and the federal capital territory administration increased by N2.75tn between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018.

The director general of the DMO, Patience Oniha, during a briefing on Tuesday, August 14, told journalist that the country’s debt stood at N22.38tn as of June 30, 2018. Data from the DMO showed that the rise in the debt profile over the one-year period was due to the $2.5bn Eurobond issued by the federal government in February 2018.

Credit: NAIJA News