Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has expressed willingness to support Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) authorities’ drive to provide affordable housing for its staff and ensure adequate hostel accommodation for its students.
Mr Ahmed Abubakar, Group Head, Corporate Communications, FMBN, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
Abubakar explained that the FMBN Managing-Director, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, said this when the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of ABU, Prof. Kabir Bala and other top management officials paid him a courtesy visit.
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Dangiwa, an alumnus of ABU, encouraged the institution’s management to leverage on the FMBN’s unique portfolio of affordable housing products to enhance the welfare conditions of staff.
“This includes the Individual Construction Loan that provides up to N15million at seven per cent interest rate, to NHF contributors with unencumbered land, appropriate titles, and approved building plans to undertake self-construction.
“Beneficiaries can pay back over a period of up to 30 years, depending on their age and number of years left in service,’’ he said.
The FMBN boss said that the university could also organise its staff to take advantage of the bank’s Cooperative Housing Development Loan.
He explained that the facility enabled structured groups with a plot of land to develop houses for allocation to its members.
He further said key features of the scheme included tenures of up to 24 months with a moratorium of 12 months and an interest rate of 10 per cent.
According to him, up to N500 million is accessible by qualified cooperative societies under the facility.
Dangiwa also urged the university to come up with comprehensive building plans that would involve quantitative, civil, and architectural designs that would be cost-effective for its staff.
He noted that FMBN already had funded estates in two locations in Kaduna, including Zango Shanu at Samaru Zaria and along Kaduna Expressway, that ABU staff that contributed to the NHF could seek loans from the bank to purchase.
Responding, Vice-Chancellor expressed appreciation to the FMBN boss and his team for the reception and willingness to support his administration’s affordable housing plan for staff.
Bala also sought FMBN’s support toward tackling the lingering student hostels accommodation challenges in the institution.