By YINKA KOLAWOLE

In a bid to reposition the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) for better housing delivery to effectively tackle the estimated 17 million units housing deficit in the country, the Federal Government has inaugurated an eighteen- member Steering Committee on Restructuring and Commercialisation of the agency.

Speaking during the inauguration of the committee in Abuja, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple, lamented that the agency had failed to deliver on its core mandate of provision of mass housing. She said that the desire of the Federal Government to provide mass housing for the citizenry led to the establishment of FHA in 1973, noting however, that the purpose has not been fully achieved. “Since inception about 40 years ago, FHA has been able to build only 37,000 housing across the country. This is an average of less than 1,000 houses per annum. Currently, the housing deficit in Nigeria is estimated at 17 million units,” she stated.

The minister attributed the poor performance of FHA to, among others, historical operating losses, huge legacy debts, poor internally generated revenue base, and poor corporate governance, high cost of housing units, dependence on government funding and lack of internal cohesion.

Pepple said as part of efforts to reposition and strengthen the agency for effective service delivery, the Federal Government constituted a committee in May 2021 to examine its current structure operations and challenges. According to her, “the committee submitted its report in August, making far reaching recommendations for the structural overhaul and commercialisation of FHA. The recommendations were approved by the President in December 2012 and a technical board was inaugurated to oversee the affairs of the authority during the restructuring period.

She charged the committee to work with the Technical Board and the Interim Management Team to ensure the full commercialisation of FHA in accordance with the Public Enterprises Privatisation and Commercialisation Act of 1999. She said the committee would advise on creating necessary conditions for the provision of mass affordable housing by FHA in line with the National Housing policy, propose policies and regulatory framework to drive the sector and advise on the role of the private sector in providing mass affordable housing in the country.

The committee will also advise on necessary actions to ensure the successful commercialisation of FHA, consider the Public Private Partnership framework review and propose measures that will encourage private sector participation as well as serve as a clearing house for sector policy recommendations for council consideration and approval. It will also bring to the attention of the National Council on Privatisation any other matters which in the committee’s opinion are cr
itical to government’s effort to reinvigorate and commercialise the FHA.

Members of the committee are professionals drawn from different fields, including the minister as chairperson, Mr. Ayeni Olatunde, Chairman ASO Savings & Loans Plc; Mrs. Chinelo Amagu, Ag. DG, PenCOM; Mr. Benjamin Dikko, DG, Bureau of Public Enterprise, and Oyinloye Adekunle, CEO, Infrastructure Bank Plc. Others are Mr Olabode Afolayan, National President, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria REDAN and representatives of Ministry of Justice, NACCIMA and organised labour.