By YINKA KOLAWOLE

The Federal Government approved the restructuring and commercialisation of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) due to the underwhelming performance of the agency over the past 40 years. Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, disclosed this at a one-day management retreat on ‘Strategizing for Effective Restructuring and Commercialisation of the FHA’ in Abuja.

She noted that government was worried by the consistent under-performance of FHA over the years and the organization’s inability to meet the legitimate aspirations of Nigerians for decent housing.

“FHA is government’s foremost agency for housing delivery. Housing is one of the basic needs of man.

You will all understand then why the government is genuinely worried by the consistent under-performance of the FHA over the years. The organization has not been able to meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of Nigeria,” she said.

The minister said the federal government has taken steps aimed at creating a conducive environment for private sector operators to improve their participation in housing delivery, but lamented that government’s efforts are being hindered by the under-performing FHA.

“Government has created the Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Corporation (NMRC) to simplify the process of creating mortgages for Nigerians. It has also approved the new National Housing and Urban Development policies. All these actions are aimed at removing all the encumbrances that hinder access to decent and affordable houses for all Nigerians. However, a parlous FHA creates a disconnect in the country’s delicate housing equation.

While NMRC is aimed at strengthening the consumer in his demand for housing, the FHA is expected to firm up the supply side of the equation. That was why the President graciously approved the restructuring and commercialization of FHA as a step towards empowering it to deliver on its mandate.

Following that approval, I had the privilege to inaugurate both the Interim Management Team and the Technical Board of the Authority on December 12 last year. The two bodies are to be in place for a period of 18 months beginning from November when the Presidential approval was obtained,” she stated.

Eyakenyi urged the new FHA management to give the authority a new lease of life, noting that the retreat is an opportunity for staff of FHA to gain more insight into the reform document. She added that the document, with specific deliverables and timelines, is supposed to serve as a compass to guide the Interim Management Team in implementing the restructuring and commercialization of Federal Housing Authority.

In his comment, the newly appointed Managing Director of FHA, Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin, attributed the under-performance of the authority to poor operational structure, ill motivated staff and paucity of funds to meet its housing delivery target. He said the new management met an organization filled with poorly motivated staff that have stagnated on the same level for upwards of 10 years, creating doubts among the staff about their future and that of the authority.

“Rather than work in synergy to promote the interest of the authority, staff and management were in perennial state of mutual suspicion which put a dagger at the heart of the authority. In addition, we found that FHA’s major projects designed to add to the nation’s housing stock and re-inflate the organisation’s dwindling resources had been grounded by paucity of funds,” Al-Amin stated.