…Move Product Launch Date Forward
Efforts are intensely underway for the launch of the Diaspora Mortgage Loan Product of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), with six continents already contacted and ready to commence.
In a bid to perfect plans towards a successful launch, the Federal Mortgage and NiDCOM have agreed to move the launch date of the product three months forward.
The agreement was arrived at when the Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM, Hon. Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, received the management team of the Federal Mortgage at NiDCOM office in Abuja on Friday, April 19, 2024.
Recall that the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, had on November 14, 2023, launched the Diaspora Mortgage Scheme during the 6th edition of the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS), with plans to launch the loan product at a later date.
Speaking during the meeting, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Mortgage, Shehu Usman Osidi, noted that the meeting was important, to seek a common ground and understanding on the impending launch of the product, which was earlier scheduled to commence in February 2024, starting with Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
However, in consideration of the recent management changes at the Bank, and in compliance with the recent proclamation and ban on foreign travels by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the management of the Federal Mortgage proposed a shift in the date.
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He acknowledged the critical work being done by NiDCOM on behalf of Nigerians, especially those outside the shores of the country, reassuring of the Bank’s continued support.
“The Diaspora Mortgage Loan is a product we take seriously, because we see Nigerians in the diaspora as very strategic not only to their immediate communities but to the Nigerian economy generally,” he said.
Reporting the progress of work done by the Bank, the Chief Executive said, “the product concept has been approved by the Board and the remittance /contribution apparatus endorsed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The ICT infrastructure has also been established within our Core-banking Application system and is currently undergoing necessary test-run and perfection.”
In her response, the NiDCOM Chairman, while congratulating the new management team of the Bank, expressed confidence that with the well-known antecedents of the MD, the Bank will be taken to unimaginable heights.
She agreed that the new management needed time to settle down and make adequate preparations before the launch, noting that NiDCOM had held similar thoughts of extending the date.
Dabiri-Erewa however advised that the three-month shift be used to perfect the product, while also appealing that the test-run of the product commences, to ensure seamless implementation.
Commenting, the Head, Technological Transfer and Innovation, NiDCOM, Hon. Abdulrahman Terab, affirmed that the three months would allow a perfection of the process at the technical level.
Also, in his comment, the Executive Director of Loans and Mortgage Services, Federal Mortgage, Dr. Muhammad Usman Abdu, appreciated the work being done by the NiDCOM Head, describing her as a gift to Nigeria. He also highlighted the fact that both teams are in tandem in thought.
The Secretary to the Commission, Engr. Dr. Sule Yakubu Bassey, observed that as a low hanging fruit for national development, NiDCOM was ready to harvest the Diaspora Mortgage Loan product and expand investments in real estate globally.
The date extension is an indication of the desire of the two organisations to present a flawless product for the benefit of Nigerians in the Diaspora.
