Housing events of the year

January 16th, 2014, the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) was officially launched by President Goodluck Jonathan to increase mortgage penetration in the country.While the Federal Ministry of Finance through the NMRC is handling the demand side of the provision of 10,000 mortgages as pilot scheme, the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is […]

January 16th, 2014, the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) was officially launched by President Goodluck Jonathan to increase mortgage penetration in the country.
While the Federal Ministry of Finance through the NMRC is handling the demand side of the provision of 10,000 mortgages as pilot scheme, the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is to facilitate action on the delivery of the 10,000 housing units that the mortgage facility of the NMRC will support.
 
Housing  accountability
On 24th June, 2014, a ministerial committee to facilitate the audit of the contribution of the public servants into the National Housing Fund (NHF) accounts maintained by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) was inaugurated.
The committee is also charged with the responsibility of developing framework for promoting increased awareness of the process of accessing contributions into the NHF by putting into view the Presidential Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies chaired by Mr. Stephen Oronsaye as approved in the White Paper.
 
Roadmap for the sector
A Draft Roadmap for the Housing and Urban Development Sector was developed by the ministry in consultation with relevant stakeholders. It was reviewed on 10th July, 2014 at an enlarged meeting of the management of the ministry and the Ministerial Expert Group (MEG) which was charged with the responsibility of preparing the document.
 The Draft Roadmap was further reviewed, consolidated and adopted for implementation at a Stakeholders Validation Workshop held in Abuja from 8th-9th September, 2014.
 
World Habitat Day
Nigeria joined the rest of world to celebrate the 2014 World Habitat Day, though scheduled for 6th of October globally Nigeria held its own between 13th and 14th October due to the public holidays to mark the Eid-El-Kabir.
At the event, the Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister Mrs. Akon Eyankenyi  said the main objective of the event was to collectively articulate Nigeria’s priorities and concerns in the sector for input into the New Global Urban Agenda that will emerge in 2016.
 
Housing Commissioning
On 13th February 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned the Aviation Village Housing estates in Abuja consisting of 270 housing units in a combination of storied flats and semi-detached bungalows.
On 11th July, 2014, Vice-President Namadi Sambo commissioned the FMBN-ELIM Housing Estate of about 324 units in Enugu, Enugu State.

Memorandum of Understanding
In June, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Shelter Afrique and the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) to support housing development in the country. The MoU signing, according to the Minister of Housing, will increase the capacity of REDAN to participate more effectively in the delivery of the 10,000 housing units under the first phase of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) mortgage initiative.
 
Abuja New Town
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) allocated parcels of land to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), a housing delivery agency of the FMLH&D in Kuchiko, Bwari and Kwali Area Councils for the provision of various housing units under the Abuja New Town Development Scheme.
 
National Housing delivery aggregate
On 9th October, 2014,  Mrs.  Eyankenyi at the 2014 presentation of the ministry, disclosed  that  from July 2010-September 2014, a total of 43,126 housing units were added to the national housing stock through various interventions by the ministry and its two Parastatals, namely the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and FHA. These according to her includes 710 housing units under the Prototype Housing Scheme; 7,869 housing units under Public-Private Partnerships;  3,302 housing units through the FHA; 5,007 housing units through mortgages created by the FMBN; 17,240 housing units through estate development loans provided by the FMBN; and  8,998 housing units through Contractor Finance Initiatives and 15 housing delivery.
 
Building materials concession initiative
 A two-day summit held in  October, 2014 in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance focused on the concessions to be granted by the relevant parties in respect of major building/construction materials and components (both local and imported).  The opportunity offered by the summit was also used to expose participants to alternative building technologies and construction methods that will take into consideration the peculiar Nigerian socio- cultural situations and the imperative of making houses affordable in the country.

Housing committees
Twelve implementation teams and a Core Coordinating Team (CCT) were constituted by the ministry on Tuesday, 18th February, 2014 to drive the effective implementation of some of the outstanding implementation issues arising from the Presidential Retreat on Housing and Urban Development held in November 2012, and the recommendations of the report of the Ministerial Implementation Team (MIT) for housing delivery in Nigeria in 2012.
The 12 teams were as follows: Policy Development and Implementation; Improved Land Titling Process; Housing Finance; Affordable Housing; Low-Income Housing; Public Buildings and Monuments; Urban Development; Millennium Development Goals; Capacity Building; Research and Documentation; International Cooperation; and Sensitization, Enlightenment, Education and Advocacy. The reports of the 12 teams have been submitted and are being implemented.
 On Thursday, 21st August, 2014 a ministerial committee established under the chairmanship of the Lands Minister to undertake the inventory and auditing of all federal lands and landed property was considered for implementation. The objective was to update database on the status of all federal lands and landed property in the country in order to free under-utilized lands for housing development and optimize the use of all federal government landed property.  
 
On 21st October 2014, the inter-ministerial committee on National Land Policy to identify important areas of land use that will be useful across the nation was inaugurated. Eyankeyi  charged the committee to put all concerted efforts into research, consultation and preparation of a policy document that will serve the country as well as a reference point  to other African countries.
 In December 2014, the repositioning of FHA  began with the inauguration of  the technical board of the authority. Eyankenyi who inaugurated the board said that the inauguration was in furtherance of the ongoing re-organization and restructuring of the authority.
On November 5, 2014, FHA said it was set to deliver 5,000 housing units for traders under a partnership with the National Association of Nigerian Traders. The authority said the first phase of the scheme will start on the site for the proposed FHA Housing Estate in Zuba in FCT.
On Thursday 18th December 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan flagged off the nationwide mass housing programme for Nigerian workers at Apo-Tafyi project site in Abuja. The first phase of the nationwide workers’ housing scheme which the Federal Government is undertaking is in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as with private developers.