The Senate Committee on Lands, Housing, and Urban Development has reaffirmed its commitment to the recapitalization of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the review of outdated laws hindering the bank’s operations. The pledge was made during an interactive session with FMBN officials on January 15, 2025, at the National Assembly.
The session was convened to review the 2025 budgets of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and its agencies, following President Bola Tinubu’s budget presentation in December 2024.
Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Committee’s Chairman, praised the leadership of FMBN’s Managing Director, Shehu Usman Osidi, for the bank’s ongoing efforts in providing affordable housing despite numerous challenges. He emphasized the Committee’s commitment to transparency, financial discipline, and optimizing resources to achieve national development goals.
“This is a crucial aspect of our responsibilities, ensuring prudent management of resources and the alignment of the budget with national objectives,” Sen. Tambuwal remarked. He also assured FMBN’s leadership of the Committee’s support in resolving the bank’s issues, including organizing a special meeting with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to address non-fulfillment of shareholding obligations.
In his report, Osidi outlined the FMBN’s achievements, noting that the National Housing Fund (NHF) had registered over 5.8 million contributors since its inception in 1992. The bank has disbursed a total of ₦455 billion in loans, with over ₦29 billion distributed in 2024 alone. Osidi also highlighted the NHF’s compliance across 35 states and the FCT, improvements in the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme, and the automation of processes. Despite these successes, he pointed out several challenges such as low capitalization, outdated laws, and limitations imposed by CBN’s prudential guidelines.Senator Victor Umeh, the Committee’s Vice Chairman, voiced concern over the delayed recapitalization, stressing that urgent steps are needed to address the bank’s financial challenges. “The ₦500 billion proposed over a year ago still hasn’t been provided, and that remains a key issue,” he said.
Senator Abdul Ningi acknowledged FMBN’s progress but called for continued engagement with the Committee to tackle the remaining challenges, while Senator Seriake Dickson urged the bank to expand its housing initiatives to rural areas, ensuring housing access for all Nigerians, not just urban residents. On the same day, FMBN’s executives also attended a session with the Joint Committee on Finance to present its 2025 budget proposal.
