To achieving affordable housing, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL) have signed an agreement to inject N10 billion Sukuk Bond into the construction of 300,000 low-income housing units.
To date, the fund has financed the development of 11,700 affordable homes in Bauchi, Delta, Ogun, Kano, Nasawara, Kaduna, Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states. It targets to spend $3 billion on this class of homeowners.
The agreement was signed by the FHFL Managing Director, Mr. Femi Adewole and its Chairman, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, while the minister, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed represented the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
Over the next four years, the fund aims to invest up to $3 billion (N1.3 trillion) in the development of 500,000 housing units for the low-income groups. In the process, the company will create 1.5 million jobs and enable homeownership through its creative products.
At the ceremony, Ahmed said housing is one of the key indices for measuring development in any country.
Ahmed also stated that the bond would strengthen the funds and expand its ability to offer wider opportunities, adding that Nigerians will rely on them to realise their homeownership dreams.
“Housing for Nigerians, especially the low-income has been a major priority for Buhari-led administration. This is one of the strategic pillars of our economic development programmes and a direct way of improving the lives of citizens,” she added.
Also, the Chairman, FHFL Board of Directors, Alhaji Barau, explained that with the issuance of an N30 billion Sukuk Bond, they will be committed to financing the development of affordable houses and strengthening citizens’ drive to own homes.
“We initiated this issuance as one of the measures towards attaining our objective of bridging the housing gap in Nigeria, providing millions of jobs and enabling economic growth,” he remarked.
The FHFL Managing Director, Mr. Femi Adewole, who expressed delight with the initiative, said: “We have successfully completed the issuance of the N30 billion Sukuk Issuance Programme, and the first-ever Security Exchange Commission registered corporate Sukuk to be issued in Nigeria.”
Adewole explained that the bond issuance was oversubscribed, said the investors include pension funds, ethical funds, fund managers, Islamic institutions, non-finance trustees, corporate and high net worth individuals.
Similarly, he noted that about 64 per cent of the subscription was from Pension Funds, which the net proceeds from this issue will finance new homes for Nigerians on low-income and will contribute to developing up to 200,000 homes by December, 2022.
“We financed the development of at least 11,700 homes for low-income earners. This initiative is also for implementing the National Social Housing Programme (NSHP) of the Federal Government, which is aimed at providing 300,000 houses for citizens,” he added.
According to him, this is the first single investment in the history of Nigeria, towards ensuring that people have decent homes.
He added that the programme is the government’s economic and growth recovery plan in response to the adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic.