Reps Request N500bn Recapitalisation For FMBN

The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Federal Government to recapitalise the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to the tune of N500bn.

It said this was vital to making the bank more active and responsive to its functions for effective housing delivery in the country.

The recommendation to recapitalise the bank was contained in the report of the House Committee on Housing, which lawmakers considered and approved on Tuesday.

The committee, which is chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Katsina State, Mr. Ahmed Baba-Kaita, had investigated the non-compliance with the National Housing Fund Act and the inability of the government to deliver housing to the citizenry.

The committee had observed that a major shortcoming was the failure of contributors to the Fund, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, commercial banks and insurance firms, to perform their duties.

The committee recommended that such contributors should be compelled to provide funds for the NHF as provided in the Act.

Another recommendation of the committee was that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria should be given necessary government support in areas like guarantee, recapitalisation and allocations to empower the bank for maximum productivity.

“That steps should be taken to review the provisions of the Act to make it more enforceable,” the committee added.

The House opposed the creation of any parallel agency to provide the same functions as the FMBN.

“That existing Federal Government institutions should be supported rather than creating new ones to avoid duplication of functions,” the House added.

Two other reports related to housing also came before the House on Tuesday.

One was the report on “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the National Housing Fund Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Enact the National Housing Fund Bill to Make Provisions for Additional Sources of Funding and for Related Matters.”

However, the consideration of the report was stepped down for additional work to be done on the bill.

The second report was titled: “Bill for an Act to Repeal the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Make Comprehensive Provisions for Establishment of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and its Board of Directors, and for Related Matters.”