‘Genuine contributors should benefit from FMBN mortgages’

Can you give us an insight of what JEDO investment does? We are into construction of houses for Nigerians and we have been in business since 2009. Since then we have been able to deliver series of housing projects across the country. We have provided over 1000 housing units in Nigeria. We are the pioneer […]

Can you give us an insight of what JEDO investment does?

We are into construction of houses for Nigerians and we have been in business since 2009. Since then we have been able to deliver series of housing projects across the country. We have provided over 1000 housing units in Nigeria. We are the pioneer operators of JEDO mass housing estate in Lugbe where we have over 700 housing units for medium and low level income earners; we also provided 103 houses under the ministerial Housing Scheme and the Federal Mortgage Bank, in Suleja, Niger State. We are also building another 100 houses under this same scheme in Kano State and we are already at the completion stage and this is also meant for the NHS contributors and it is funded by the Federal Mortgage  Bank. Also, we are building another 200 houses in Kuje under the Housing Scheme of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing and we are at the advance stage of our construction.

We also have 150 housing units which was flagged off by the Federal Mortgage Bank but it is yet to take off because of the funding agreement between us and FMBN in Sokoto State, so just to mention a few of what we are doing in JEDO investment. 

As a developer, how do you key in the low income earners in your various  housing  projects?

 Basically, I am a mortgage oriented developer because I have so many links with the FMBN, all these projects I have mentioned are all linked with the Federal Mortgage Bank and the aim and objectives are  to make these houses available for FMBN to create mortgages for National Housing Contributors to benefit under the mortgage arrangement by way of making payment instalmentally, and I think the FMBN even came up with another ideas with respect to creation of mortgages. 

You can get as much as at least 15, 20, 25 years depending on your age or your working experience or years of service and all the houses we are  building are basically for the benefits of the National Housing Own Contribution which is an Act that was set up in 1983 during Buhari’s regime and that was the time FMBN came on board just to be the custodian of the money that is being generated in this contribution and our target audience are our customers.  We are also trying to complement the efforts of the government in reducing the housing deficit in the country. So far so good, we have been moving on the same track with the FMBN and the Federal Ministry of Housing. 

The FMBN just got a new management, what is your advice to them? 

Personally, I have met the new Managing Director of FMBN and he is a gentleman. He should remember that the people making these contributions are supposed to be the beneficiaries of the money they have contributed and so more emphasis should be placed on the provision of mortgages to these mortgagers.  They should remember that the people contributing this money are supposed to be the beneficiaries and to deliver houses to  them at any state and I hope they would abide by that in the provision of these houses.  

What is your view on the new Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme by the Federal Government?  

I think Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita is doing wonderfully well, she has come up with a wonderful idea and we are part of the scheme. With the coming of the FISH programme, they were able to enumerate over 80,000 civil servants who are looking for houses, and two weeks ago, I was there when she unveiled the provision of 30 housing projects to the teeming Nigerian civil servants and  from what  we are seeing, she will deliver and we will partner her to deliver these initiatives. We are the developers and we believe in the programme, our association (REDAN) has signed an MoU  regarding the FISH programme and we hope that government will give her all the  support to make sure this programme is delivered. 

But do you see this programme coming to stay? 

Of course, she has laid the foundation, the only thing is that you know that government is sub-sections, one government passes and another one comes in but it doesn’t mean that when a new one comes in they will abort the programmes  the previous government had already put in place. They don’t have to abort it, they should try to see that at least it is for the benefits of Nigerians. So, I will say any government that comes in shouldn’t abort this programme, the programme has come to stay. 

 As the Deputy National President of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), what is your association doing as regards the improvement of delivery of houses in Nigeria?  

Of course, our association is doing fine and has done so much, we also have so much to put on the table in making sure we help the government in delivering houses.  First and foremost, we have signed an MOU of $2 billion  for the provision of houses to Nigerians with a Pan African bank, Shelter Afrique, and this $2 billion  will be coming in tranches in 10 years time and our members that have genuine lands, projects, with genuine off takers will definitely benefit from this $2 billion. 

As I said, it is coming in tranches with $200 million d every year over a period of 10 years. We also signed an MOU with Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC). NMRC also is to provide mortgages as well to the Nigerian workers and we are also working on the same page with them to ensure delivery of these houses. We also signed an MOU alongside with the Federal Mortgage Bank, as an association, because FMBN is looking at the supply side of the market and we are looking at the demand side, so on that note, we signed an MOU to harmonize the $2 billion  that is coming so that our members will provide the demand with the required supplies and I think it is a big step forward in the reduction of housing deficit in the country. 

We recently held a housing workshop where we enlightened members and the public in the way and manner to benefit from the housing agenda, we also have a working agenda with the Central Bank of Nigeria. We held a meeting with the Central Bank Department of Housing just recently and we are on a very good setting in the provision of these houses. Also, to mention a few the National Association of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria is working very hard to make sure we help the government in the delivery of these housing deficit in Nigeria, so we have been touching the lives of people a long time ago and with the coming of this government housing agenda, we believe we can do more and we intensify our efforts by partaking in the signings of all these MOU across the nation for the provision of these houses. Two  billion dollars  is not a joke, multiply it by the current dollar rate in the market and just assume we are going to provide maybe N6million  houses for instance and you will see how many houses we will produce in the next 10 years. 

What are the loopholes in the housing sector you feel the government should look at in respect of housing developments?

 We have been old in the business and we have come across so many rivers which we have crossed Recently the Federal Government initiated a new agenda under the  Minister of Power works and Housing  Babatunde Fashola and we are expecting that they will bring REDAN into it because we have been in the delivery of these houses for a very long time and I believe we are trying to work hand in hand to give him our advice and to make sure he succeeds. We have what it takes to make the  government`s housing agenda succeed.