On Monday, the Senate Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development berated the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for spending N58.44 billion of its generated N59.02 billion.
The Committee expressed this position at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, at an interactive session with FMBN, one of the agencies under its supervision.
The Committee was infuriated when the Managing Director of the Bank, Mr. Madu Haman, presented the capital expenditure of N3.3 billion for 2023, which was broken down into purchase of office furniture and fittings N540 million, rehabilitation and repair of office buildings N846.4 million, computer equipment and services N1.1 billion and purchase of motor vehicles N800 million.
The bank, which the MD said doesn’t receive allocation from the Federal Government, runs its expenditures on internally generated revenue (IGR), noting that, from January 2022 to September 2023, the bank generated N59.02 billion with a total expenditure of N58.44 billion, a news that was not acceptable to the lawmakers as the bank was supposed to be making profits.
The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Madu Haman, who agreed with the Senators, however, explained that the bank was seriously challenged because it was highly undercapitalized, adding “It is a national bank that has only N2.56 billion as shareholders fund.
According to Mr. Haman, “The bank has written to CBN and they have told us that the minimum capital for a development finance institution like us should be N100 billion. These are the challenges the bank is facing that is affecting its performance in terms of making revenue for the bank”.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Aminu Tambuwal and his colleagues also tasked FMBN with the provision of affordable housing for workers and low-income earners.
Mr. Haman took up the challenge and told the Senators that the core mandate and function of the bank is to “provide sustainable liquidity for the Nigerian housing sector.
“The business focus of the bank is primarily to promote affordable housing delivery to the low and medium-income earners in the country.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Senator Gbenga Ashafa, has stated that the current administration is focused on addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit.
Speaking on the housing deficit in the country, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Housing Authority of Nigeria, who led his team to the Committee for the interactive session, said that the government was putting strategies in place to address the problem.
Ashafa said: “That is true, nobody will deny that we don’t have a housing deficit. The government is trying from all angles to ensure that this deficit is reduced. And that is why we want to call all stakeholders, to come to International Conference Centre on Thursday, and see different experts bringing out ideas on how we will be able to help this country through that platform.
“So, we are expecting all of you to come. The keynote address is going to be delivered by the former Honourable Minister, Mr Babatunde Fashola.”
Source: New Telegraph
