Mr Kingsley Theophilus, the Chairman, African Shelter Support and Empowerment Initiative, on Thursday urged the Federal Government to fulfill its promise to recapitalise the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).
Theophilus, who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, said that recapitalisation of the FMBN would enhance its ability to carry out its mandate.
He said that recapitalisation of the bank was very necessary to boost its capital base, and to encourage the bank to live up to expectations.
The chairman said that the recapitalisation would also restore people’s confidence in the bank and enable contributors access funds.
“In December 2016, the Federal Government during one of its functions promised to recapitalise the FMBN, but up to now nothing has been done in that respect.
“The FMBN is the bedrock of housing development in Nigeria; for the housing challenges of the country to be tackled, all necessary effort needs to be geared toward making the FMBN effective and efficient.
“What the FMBN needs is complete restructuring, a review of its operation and possibly training and retraining of its staff to upgrade the overall performance of the parastatal,’’ he said.
Theophilus stressed the need for adequate funding of the bank so as to give room for efficient involvement of the housing sector.
He said that it was through repositioning of the FMBN for better performance that an effective mortgage system for the country could be guaranteed.
He noted that the operations of the FMBN, NHF and Federal Housing Authority (FHA) were being hindered by inadequate funding.
Theophilus urged the Federal Government to live up to its promises by ensuring that the country evolve an effective mortgage system to jump start housing development and delivery.
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