By Adeoye Akindele
From the look of things it seems that the current administration has begun the execution of a well orchestrated plot to kill the National Housing Fund Scheme, and indeed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria itself.
Two major steps by this administration in recent times lend credence beyond reasonable doubt to the above assertion.
One of them is the recent systematic exclusion of some Primary Mortgage Banks from further accessing National Housing Fund Mortgage loans for Nigerians from the Federal Mortgage Bank. This move was initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the effect that banks which have accessed NHF loans beyond a certain limit should be excluded from further disbursements.
The introduction of this policy saw the exclusion of most active Primary Mortgage Banks from processing housing loans with the FMBN. This automatically cut off access to affordable housing loans for millions of Nigerian workers who contribute their paltry incomes to the scheme.
Records in FMBN have shown a sharp drop in the number of mortgages created year-on-year since the introduction of this policy.
In the long run it will not be surprising to see agitations by labour groups to exit from participating in the scheme since they can no longer have access to mortgage loans therefrom due to the lack of viable PMIs to process their loans.
The eventual result of that is left for our imagination.
The second and by far more deadly move by this administration in recent times to kill the NHF scheme and indeed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is the ongoing outright official diversion of funds belonging to the NHF Scheme by the Office of the Accountant General.
As part of the policy thrusts of this administration, government agencies were all mandated to close all accounts with commercial banks and make use of the Treasury Single Account set up by the Federal Government. This was intended to facilitate transparency in fund management, and also curb diversion of public funds. As it relates to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, remittances of contributions from civil servants and indeed all Nigerian workers to the NHF scheme, as well as loan repayments from NHF loan beneficiaries was now to be done through the Remita Platform to the designated FMBN account in the CBN.
Unfortunately, It has been reported recently that the Office of the Accountant General has been commandeering 40% of every deposit made either as contribution from workers or as loan repayment into the FMBN TSA in CBN. Sources from within FMBN stated that having noticed the shortfall in its funds, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria approached the Office of the Accountant General on the matter and no tangible explanations were given other than the fact that the government needs funds and has made use of it. This recent development has brought about several imbalances in the books of the Federal Mortgage Bank and also reconciliation problems regarding payments made by contributors to the scheme and obligor Primary Mortgage Banks and how much actually reflects as their loan balances.
At a time when many are calling for the recapitalisation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to N500bn improve its capacity to continually create mortgages and provide affordable housing for the Nigerian workers, it is absolutely unconscionable for any government to dip its hands into the paltry funds of the bank. This represents wrongful use of contributions from the sweat and hardwork of millions of ordinary Nigerians who hope to own homes through the scheme someday. If this criminal diversion is allowed to continue, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria will very soon run out of funds not just to create mortgages, but also to survive.
The end of the FMBN and the NHF scheme may therefore be nearer than we think as a result of the steps being currently taken by this government, if nothing is done immediately to stop them.
Adeoye Akindele is a mortgage expert
