The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in conjunction with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and other organisations have finalised plans to implement a National Affordable Housing Delivery Programme for Nigerian workers.
A statement signed by Zubaida Umar, FMBN Group Head, Corporate Communications on Tuesday in Abuja listed the other organisations as Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).
Umar noted that the programme was another landmark move to boost housing development in the country.
The housing scheme is a product of a strategic collaboration between FMBN and the country’s leading labour unions towards addressing in a structured and sustainable manner the housing requirement of their members.
The housing requirement is currently estimated to be about 3,750,000 housing units.
“This includes fast-tracking the provision of safe, decent, quality and affordable housing to registered members of NLC, TUC, and NECA that also contribute to the National Housing Fund (NHF), which the FMBN manages.
“The pilot phase of the programme aims to deliver 2,800 housing units in 14 sites across the country. This includes 200 houses in each of the six zones in addition to Lagos and Abuja,” Umar said.
According to Umar, the groundbreaking ceremony of the project is scheduled for September at the 100-unit housing estate for Voice of Nigeria (VoN) in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
This, she said, would be followed by successive inauguration of the programme in Adamawa and Abia states.
She said the features of the housing programme were the emphasis on affordability and the focus on low and middle-income classes of workers.
She said that the planned house type included fully finished semi-detached bungalows and blocks of flats of one, two and three bedrooms.
“The designs of the houses are based on local and international social housing models that have been tested and proven to deliver housing units that are structurally strong, livable and cost effective.
“To ensure successful execution of the programme, the design and implementation plan was based on extensive deliberations and recommendation of housing experts.
“They drew from the theoretical and practical experiences of housing stakeholders, varied inputs, and consultations with developers, private sector players, research and analysis of housing projects locally and abroad.
