Poultry farmers in Delta State on Friday, January 5, 2018 lamented the increase in price of feeds in 2017, saying it led to high cost of poultry during the Yuletide and New Year festivities.
Poultry farming
Some poultry farmers told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Asaba that the price of feeds increased by 34 per cent in 2017 compared to the price in 2016.
A poultry farmer in Asaba, the state capital, Mrs Grace Onuemu, said that a bag of starter feeds, which used to be sold for about N2,800 and N2,900 in 2016, was sold for between N3,000 to N3,900 in 2017.
Another poultry farmer, Mr Emmanuel Ogaga, a poultry farmer in Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state, said “a bag of grower feeds went from N3,000 to between N3,800 and N4,000.’’
Ogaga lamented the increase in the price of feeds, saying that it affected the prices of chicken during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
He said that he had to increase the price of his chicken during the Yuletide to enable him recoup his capital and also make a little profit.
“During the Christmas and New Year celebrations, we sold layers between N1,500 and N1,700, while broilers were sold between N3,500 and N4,000.
“The parent cock was sold for N5,000 and N5,500 depending on the sizes,’’ Ogaga said.
Another poultry farmer, Mrs Evelyn Chigozie, blamed the continuous increase in the price of feeds on the high cost of raw materials used for its production.
She appealed to government at all levels to support farmers with soft loans and grants to enable them grow their businesses.
According to Chigozie, patronage of poultry was low and not encouraging during this season.
“As I speak with you, I still have some unsold chickens on my farm, which is unlike what I used to experience during this season,’’ the poultry farmer said.
A quartet involving the Africa’s premier development finance institution, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB); the joint development and climate finance institution of the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, Nordic Development Fund (NDF); multilateral donor trust fund, Global Environment Facility (GEF); and investors, Calvert Impact Capital (CIC), is partnering to invest some $55 million into off-grid energy.
Astrid Manroth, Director, Transformative Energy Partnerships at the African Development Bank (AfDB)
On December 15 2017, the AfDB’s Board approved a $30 million investment in the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI OGEF). This follows the approval of additional investments of $10 million from CIC, $8.5 million from the GEF and €6 million from the NDF. In addition, the NDF will provide a €0.5-million grant for technical assistance to support deal structuring and capacity development.
The FEI OGEF is a $100 million blended finance debt fund designed to provide loans in local and hard currencies to off-grid energy companies with the dual objectives of scaling up access to clean electricity for off-grid households and crowding in local financial institutions as co-lenders.
The Fund, it was gathered, directly supports AFDB’s New Deal on Energy for Africa and is part of its “High 5” priority to light up and power the continent, with an aspirational target of connecting 75 million households through off-grid energy access solutions by 2025. Through the use of clean energy instead of fossil fuels to power communities, the Fund is expected to result in the reduction of up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.
Over 600 million people are estimated to lack access to modern energy in sub-Saharan Africa.
“FEI OGEF is the first Bank instrument that enables debt financing, including in local currency, to off-grid energy access companies who need growth capital to expand their operations across Africa. The strong collaboration of the Bank, SEFA and NDF in preparing and creating this fund, and the co-investment by the GEF and CIC, demonstrate the power of partnerships for clean energy access in Africa,” said Astrid Manroth, Director, Transformative Energy Partnerships at the AfDB.
The combination of these four first investments, AfDB officials say, brings the innovative fund closer to its first close target to be achieved in the first quarter of 2018 and provides a strong signal to the community of interested investors. In particular, the approvals will provide comfort for dedicated private-sector investors to join FEI OGEF.
The Fund is said to be a first mover matching local currency debt instruments with recent innovations in off-grid energy business models to scale up energy access for underserved and rural households. It provides a blended capital structure whereby investments in equity provides comfort and risk cushioning to attract early participation and additional investment by development finance institutions and other commercial investors.
During a recent visit to the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, NDF’s Managing Director, Pasi Hellman, said: “This initiative highlights the close and constructive working relationship between NDF and the AfDB. We have been in lock step throughout the preparation and development cycle of the Fund. Now we have a fully packaged investment vehicle to bring to market scaling up proven clean off-grid energy solutions to the energy access challenge on the continent.”
The Fund will be managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners operating out of offices in Nairobi, Lagos and London, with an initial focus on East Africa as well as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria, and looking to build a strong pipeline of transactions throughout the region. The pioneering Fund will unlock and catalyse financial sector and local currency participation in this growing green finance opportunity.
“The GEF is pleased to be a partner in this innovative blended finance facility which is part of GEF’s strategic priority to “crowd-in” private sector investment to help countries meet their environmental and sustainability goals,” said Gustavo Fonseca, Director of Programmes at the GEF.
“OGEF squarely fits within our investment mandate of leveraging public capital at scale to create systemic change in sectors and geographies that have been overlooked by mainstream capital markets. We are excited to work with the AfDB and the other investors to scale this facility and increase access to clean electricity for off-grid households in Africa,” said Jenn Pryce, President and CEO of CIC.
The Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) is the Bank’s flagship initiative for providing long-term finance to small-scale renewable energy access projects, of which FEI OGEF is one of the financing windows. FEI has been developed with grant support from the AfDB-hosted Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).
The Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr Marvin Dekil, has expressed appreciation to the people of Ogoniland for their support and constant cooperation for the successful implementation of the Ogoni clean-up project.
The Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr Marvin Dekil, speaking during Ogoni Day
This forms part of a message to the people of Ogoniland as they marked the 2018 Ogoni Day in Bori, the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers State.
Dr Dekil assured of the commitment of the Federal Government to the realisation of the remediation of the Ogoni environment and restoration of livelihoods as recommended in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland.
According to him, HYPREP has carried out the following activities:
Mass community sensitisation activities across all four LGAs
Demonstration of remediation technologies Ogale, Korokoro, Kwakwa, and B-Dere communities. The technical demonstartions were carried out by companies at no cost to HYPREP or the Federal Government. The companies spent their resources to showcase their remediation technologies
Training of technical staff to increase competence on the job
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Environment Minister of State, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) for the restoration of livelihoods in the communities
Implementation of Health Outreach Programme, which is said to be the first step towards the Health Impact Assessment Study as recommended in the UNEP Report.
“The exercise enabled us carry out an initial public health data as well as provide healthcare services to the Ogoni people. Over 4,700 patients were attended to,” Francis Wasa, Head of Communications, HYPREP, in a statement issued and made available to EnviroNews on Thursday, January 4, 2018.
Dr Dekil, noted the statement, further stated that the Federal Government appreciates the support of groups like the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), KAGOTE (socio-political organisation of Ogoni people), youth bodies across Ogoniland and the women organisations who have consistently showed the desire for collaboration with HYPREP in the implementation of the project.
Civil society organisations in Uganda have backed President Yoweri Museveni for rejecting to assent to the Biosafety Bill 2017, saying the move saved the country’s indigenous species and the environment.
According to scientists, crop biotechnology has delivered significant socio-economic and welfare benefits to farmers via increased yield, pest and disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance and enriched nutrient content. Photo credit: agronigeria.com.ng
The activists from Environment and Food Sovereignty, a consortium of environmentalists and food rights activists, argued that the Biosafety Bill in its current form sought to abolish the local plants, animals and birds that have supported the population for ages.
“We appreciate the President (Museveni)’s attitude of rejecting the bill so that it can be improved because if it had become law, all the indigenous species would disappear. Having genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will not promote our food sovereignty,” Mr Frank Muramuzi, the executive director of the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE), said.
Addressing the media hardly a fortnight after President Museveni rejected the proposed law on genetic engineering, the activists also accused the scientists of making false claims that GMOs are climate change resistant whereas not.
In a December 21, 2017 letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, the President observed that it was wrong to enact a law that gives monopoly of patent rights on genetic engineering without considering the communities that developed original material.
“Effluent from the GMO material should never mix with our organic materials. The law should clarify that. Use of poisons and dangerous bacteria as the inputs in genetic engineering must never be allowed,” President Museveni wrote.
Suggesting for severe punishments against those failing to label the GMO products, the President directed that consumers must be protected from developers of dangerous material that harms the environment, people and or animals.
Mr Muramuzi described the President’s move as cherishing the work of Ugandans in promoting and protecting the environment and the country’s natural resource, saying GMOs cannot promote food sovereignty.
“Most people in Uganda are poor and if we go GMO, we shall not be able to feed our children, educate them and even produce for sustainability. Most GMO seeds do not germinate, meaning farmers will rely on shops yet our indigenous species have supported the population for ages,” he added.
By Ephraim Kasozi (The Daily Monitor, Kampala, Uganda)
A 5.4-magnitude earthquake on Thursday, January 4, 2018 hit Merowe area in north Sudan, some 350 km north of the capital Khartoum, according to the Public Authority for Geological Research of Sudan’s Minerals Ministry.
Merowe, Sudan
“Earthquakes have occurred in Merowe area since Jan. 1 and continued intermittently in varying degrees thereafter.
“Thursday’s quake registered 5.4 on the Richter scale,” said the authority in a statement.
“The tremor was felt by the citizens in the area, and it is attributed to the effects of the geological structure which passes through the southwest and northeast of the African Continent and extends with the active crack of the Red Sea,” the authority added.
The authority further pointed out that “these movements become active from time to time near the Nile due to presence of some geological intersections.”
The authority urged the citizens not to fear but to be cautious at the same time, saying “these quakes are natural.”
Some years ago, the then Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafi, shook the country’s business landscape when she announced government’s preparedness to ban the use of plastics bags, a commodity which is used in high volumes across the country.
A water body littered with plastic and other waste product. Photo credit: Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters
The pronouncement by the Minister sent a shock wave across the country as people of various shields started reacting to the decision of government to ban plastic bags.
While some were of the view that the decision was long overdue, others questioned government’s rationale and credibility of unleashing such a monumental policy decision without consultations with relevant stakeholders or communicating to Nigerians what alternative it has put in place.
But, surprisingly, what Nigeria could not summon the political will to accomplish over the years, was achieved in Kenya without much stress.
The 2017 United Nations Environment Assembly, which held recently in Nairobi, was full of praises for the Kenyan government for successfully implementing the plastic bags ban policy without suffocating the business community.
At the assembly, Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, said that his government had successfully banned the manufacture and use of plastic packaging both at industrial and domestic levels.
He called for commitment from all countries in the world to copy Kenya’s example of banning the use of plastic bags.
“My advice is that nations should not heed the sceptics, who say that all countries cannot protect our planet better by banning plastic carrier bags,” said the President.
Anthony Carmona, President of Trinidad and Tobago, said that, through the plastic ban, Kenya has become the hope for humanity. “Nothing stops Kenya from becoming known as the hope of humanity just as it is known as the cradle of humanity,” he stated
Why Nigeria must emulate Kenya
Today, rivers in the country are not producing enough fish hence the massive importation of fish and fish products. Fishermen and women in the Niger Delta have since put down tools and gotten themselves into anti-social activities in the absence of fishing which had been their primary source of livelihood.
Dr. Martins Akoede, a Marine Biologist, has said that the invasion of the sea beds and continuous pollution of the ocean with plastic has made it impossible for fishes to safely lay eggs hence the comatose of one of the most vibrant businesses in the area.
Nigerians have resorted to domestically breeding cat fish, which most people are now rejecting for fear of chemical components in the food mix.
Three rivers from Nigeria including Imo River, Cross River and Kwa Ibo River are among the top 20 polluting rivers accounting for 67 per cent of global plastic inflow into the ocean.
A study published by Nature, entitled “River Plastic Emissions to the World’s Oceans”, estimated that between 1.15 and 2.41 million tonnes of plastic waste currently enter the ocean every year.
The Imo River is in South-Eastern Nigeria and flows 240 kilometres into the Atlantic Ocean. Its estuary is around 40 kilometres wide, and the river has an annual discharge of 4 cubic kilometres with 26,000 hectares of wetland while the Kwa Ibo River is a river that rises near Umuahia in Abia State and flows in a South-Eastern direction through Akwa Ibom State to the Atlantic Ocean.
Nigeria is the only African country with rivers featured in the top 20 polluters and this has been attributed to the nation’s huge population.
Another reason why government must act is the lack of an efficient waste management system in the country, meaning that every waste finds its way into the river and the ocean.
Way forward
It is estimated that if nothing urgent is done, “We would expect nearly one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish in our oceans by 2025 – an unthinkable number with drastic economic and environmental consequences,” says Nicholas Mallos, Director of Ocean Conservancy’s Marine Debris Programme.
Nigeria needs to urgently summon the political will, think through the process, dialogue with the manufacturing sector and retail stores so as to commence a massive awareness campaign among the populace and ultimately provide and implement an alternative to plastic bags. The local content programme of the federal government will be greatly boosted with a total ban on plastic bags.
The nation’s paper and wood sector is not contributing any significant quota to the country’s GDP, a serious clamp down on plastic usage would therefore bring alive this sector and save the country the current tag as one of the biggest polluters of our time.
Compared to other forms by which people decide and determine their political fortunes, democracy enjoys a greater approval and wider acceptance across the globe. Proponents of democracy as a preferred system of government boast about the potency of the system to strike the cord that energises the citizenry towards conscious and active participation in matters relating to self-preservation and government as a people. Democracy gives voice to every member of the society without discrimination of any sort. A strong citizen’s voice is a sine qua non for responsiveness on the part of any government on the delivery of public goods and services.
Participants after a Town Hall Meeting at Jessu, Gombe State
There is a direct link between democracy and rapid grassroots development the world over. Taking cognisance that greater percentage of Nigerians live in the rural areas; governance in any true democracy should be strongest at the grassroots. In Nigeria, the reverse is simply the case – grassroots governance is rather weak and almost insignificant. Evidence to this claim is the comatose state of local government administration across the 774 headquarters in the country.
Descent development has eluded rural communities in Nigeria, to no exception. Rural dwellers are often the most neglected or abandoned; the least served in terms of dividends of democracy; the least represented in social amenities and infrastructural provision; and also the least consulted in terms of policy decisions except during electioneering or partisan campaigns and thereafter, only to be forgotten after elections are won. Alienation of rural communities at the grassroots has become more of a norm than an exception by successive governments in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. This is sad, disturbing and unacceptable. Be that as it may, the rate of development a nation attains is determined by the quality of life and development of people at the grassroots.
Development of rural communities must begin with the active participation of rural dwellers at the grassroots. Democracy is never complete unless there is active involvement and participation of the people at the rural areas. Similarly, development is never complete unless the people are consciously carried along and involved fully in the governance process.
From 1999 till date, Nigeria has enjoyed uninterrupted civil democratic rule after years of dictatorial military regimes. This has been characterised by a new era of regular elections as well as return of civil liberties – to a reasonable extent and a corresponding explosion of civil society organisations. In this regard, a major landmark accruing from Nigeria’s democratic experience is the signing into law of the Freedom of Information Act by the government of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
One organisation that stands tall in the community of civil societies is Connected Development (CODE). CODE, over the years, has leveraged on the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) to negotiate and mediate citizen engagement efforts across marginalised rural communities in Nigeria to demand accountability and transparency from their elected representatives and politicians for responsiveness on the provision of public goods and services especially on three thematic areas: health, education and environment.
These thematic areas have implications for the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs are a set of 17 “Global Goals” with 169 targets among them. Spearheaded by the United Nations through a deliberative process involving its 193 Member States, as well as global civil society, the goals are contained in paragraph 54 of United Nations Resolution of 25 September 2015. Our campaign on health is addressing Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being, while that of education is focused on Goal 4: Quality Education. Also, our advocacies and campaigns on environment is captured on Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation of the SDGs.
Since 2012, CODE has traversed the six geopolitical zones of the federation mobilising citizens for active participation for the business of good governance by tracking capital public appropriations or expenditures and amplifying citizens’ voices and experiences as they clamour for transparency and accountability against secrecy, obscurity and opacity in public expenditures.
CODE’s initiative, “Follow The Money” (FTM), is a pan-African fast-growing movement dedicated to building a large community of active citizens – youths, women, adults, rural dwellers, marginalised or closed groups, persons with special needs, policy makers and indeed everybody; to promote open governance, transparency and accountability. The buzz about this movement is also about decapitating corruption and misuse of public funds meant for rural areas, not excluding urban areas at the same time.
Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organised crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish. This evil phenomenon is found in all countries but it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive.
Corruption hurts rural communities (grassroots) disproportionately when compared to urban areas by diverting funds intended for rural development, infrastructural provision and efficient functioning of the organs of government. This undermines Government’s ability to provide basic services, thereby, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment.
Corruption is a key element in economic underperformance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation, development and national prosperity. This is why CODE and her Follow The Money project could not have found relevance at other time in our history than now. Like President Buhari always posit: “We either kill corruption or corruption will kill us”.
Impressively, in the past five years, FTM has led interventions on the implementation of capital projects in our thematic areas of interest (health, education and environment) in over 40 rural communities in 16 states across the federation. Verifiable records at her secretariat reveal that about 115,822 lives have been torched and empowered in their outreaches.
This record is unsurpassed and unbeaten in the history of civil society organisations in Nigeria and arguably the entire sub-Saharan Africa. Worthy of note is CODE’s sustainability and strategy document where she plans to cover 105 communities in 36 states and the FCT touching about two million lives in the process.
“For now, we cannot forecast challenges or threats capable of undermining our goals. We have a dedicated workforce of young people who are deploying technology to achieving their targets and deliverables. I tell you, our projections are modest. We can even surpass them,” says the Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal.
CODE, using the instrumentality of Follow The Money, is leading the fastest growing community of citizens who are committed to holding their leaders and public servants accountable on good governance. The standing vision of the organisation is a world where everyone, even in the remote parts of the world, can hold their government accountable.
Join this community of active citizens at www.ifollowthemoney.org. By so doing, we accept responsibility of our leadership crisis and deficit. Joining the movement is one of the pathways to the Nigeria of our dream.
By Ani, Nwachukwu Agwu (Abuja-based rural development scholar; @NwachukwuAni)
The Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON) has urged practitioners to strive to provide quality service to clients to sustain the enviable position of town planning practice in the society.
President of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Mr Olaide Afolabi
The President of the association, Mr Olaide Afolabi, gave the charge while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, January 4, 2018 in Lagos.
Afolabi said it was no longer enough to concentrate on a single aspect of the town planning profession.
He said there were different facets of the profession that could be harnessed by the practitioners to become readily relevant to the society.
“The practitioners must be interdisciplinary – system specialists who will bring together, coordinate and manage the entire system to solve complex societal problems and promote sustainable development,’’ he said.
He said professional associations must provide leadership and enforce relevant codes and standards that make economic advancement high priority in their professional practice.
“Let practitioners strive to deliver projects based on the principles of performance, reliability, durability, aesthetics and perceived quality.
“Project management process requires good planning, monitoring and controlling. And without the processes, quality service could not be effectively delivered by Nigerian practising town planners,” he said.
Adolabi said that sustainable development of the country required positive and sustained action by individuals, communities, government and institutions.
He, therefore, urged practising town planners never to deviate from the guiding codes of ethics of the profession which centred on total commitment to professionalism, the good of the society and the development of infrastructure.
Farmers, under the aegis of Zero Hunger Commodities, have called for increased support from the Federal Government to enable farmers to engage in massive food production across the country.
Farmers on the FADAMA project
They made the call in separate interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of their recent meeting in Abuja.
Dr Tunde Arosanyin, the National Coordinator of Zero Hunger Commodities, said that the government had only been very forthcoming in the area of support to the country’s farmers.
He said that the development had compelled many farmers to abandon farming and take up other occupations, adding that the career switch might negatively affect food production in the coming years.
He said that in spite of the existing challenges, the agricultural sector still had a number of opportunities which could be further exploited by the private sector.
“However, factors like irrigation farming schemes, availability of farmers groups, existence of favourable policies and strategies, among others, would boost agricultural production and productivity, if they are well-harnessed and effectively utilised.
“Improved agricultural production will serve as a basis for poverty alleviation, particularly in the rural areas,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Mr Daniel Okafor, the Chairman of Potatoes Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), bemoaned the challenges currently facing Nigerian farmers despite the importance which the government had attached to agriculture in its efforts to revive the country’s economy.
He stressed that the farmers were at the mercy of the buyers of farm produce, adding that they were facing other challenges such as post-harvest losses, particularly with regard to perishable produces.
“Certainly, government is slow in making efforts to help farmers out in achieving their dream of making the country a self-sufficient nation in food production,’’ he said.
Okafor said that the government should put in place pragmatic mechanisms to purchase food commodities such as rice, garri and fish, among others, directly from local farmers, rather than importing those commodities from other countries.
He said that since the government had initiated its school feeding programme, tangible efforts should be made to compel the school authorities to buy food commodities directly from farmers.
He added that foodstuffs like rice, garri and fish, for instance, should be purchased directly from local farmers, rather than relying on food imports.
“No doubt, this will show the seriousness of the government in efforts to revive the agricultural sector and boost the nation’s economy.
“I know it is better we get direct information from the farmers, which is the essence of holding this meeting but permit me to list a few challenges facing our farmers.
“A major challenge facing our farmers is post-harvest losses, as over 40 per cent of their harvests usually go bad due to the lack of storage facilities.
“Other problems include pest infestation of farms and lack of easy access to finance and markets,’’ he added.
Mr Khalil Haliluan, the Chief Executive Officer of OyaOya, an online produce marketing firm, underscored the need to facilitate produce buying and selling processes in ways that would them less stressful or time consuming.
He said that efforts should also be made by all agricultural stakeholders to facilitate produce transportation to markets.
The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) initiated the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme to facilitate the provision of houses to Nigerians and bridge the housing deficit.
Observers say Nigeria’s housing deficit is far in excess of 17 million. Photo credit: lagos.all.biz
NHF is a pool which mobilises long-term funds from Nigerian workers, banks, insurance companies and Federal Government to advance loans at a single-digit interest rate to its contributors.
With the NHF scheme, workers are to contribute 2.5 per cent of the basic salary to the fund, while and the funds therein are supposed to be used for mortgage loans to the workers at concessionary terms for the purchase, building, expansion or renovation of their houses.
Apart from the workers’ contribution, the NHF also mobilises domestic and offshore long-term funds from banks, insurance companies and the Federal Government, which are supposed to be used as soft loans to its contributors.
The FMBN is, therefore, constitutionally empowered to facilitate the growth of viable primary mortgage institutions that would service the housing needs of Nigerians.
But while some civil servants have benefited from the NHF scheme, others have yet to benefit, prompting many people to clamour for the review or outright abolition of the scheme.
On this background, some stakeholders in the housing sector express concern about the operations of NHF and call for stiffer penalties against violators of the NHF Act.
But Mr Ayuba Wabba, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), rather called for a realistic housing scheme that would enable workers to afford houses.
“For us to address the issue of housing deficit, we must have an agreeable interest rate that is affordable to citizens and workers, if not the houses will be built and will not be affordable,’’ he said.
Expressing worry that Nigerian workers could still not afford the houses in spite of putting in 2.5 per cent of their monthly salaries to have shelter, he called on the Federal Government to intervene by providing the necessary funds required to drive the housing scheme.
He decried the violation of the NHF Act by some stakeholders, observing that failure of commercial banks to contribute to the fund had retarded progress of the scheme.
“We actually keyed to the scheme but along the line, in 2003 and 2004, we had challenges because the houses were built and workers could not afford them.
“The type of houses required were not the type built, so hundreds of houses are lying fallow in Abuja because nobody can afford them,’’ Wabba observed.
In his opinion, Mr Oluseyi Lufadeju, a trustee at Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria, accused the Central Bank of Nigeria and some commercial banks of not contributing to the fund.
According to him, Section 5 of the NHF Act stipulates that commercial or merchant banks shall invest in the fund 10 per cent of its loans and advances.
“The loan or advance will be at an interest rate of one per cent above the interest rate payable on current account by banks.
“Every registered insurance company shall invest minimum of 20 per cent of its non-life funds and 40 per cent of its life funds in real property development; of this, not less than 50 per cent shall be paid to the fund through the FMBN.
“Section 11 of the NHF Act provides that the Central Bank of Nigeria shall collect from commercial and merchant banks at the end of every year and not later than one month after, the percentage of their contribution to the fund,’’ he explained.
Lufadeju said without full capitalisation, the bank could not fulfil its obligation of providing affordable houses to Nigerians.
Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Mohammed Khalil, a consultant, said since the enactment of the NHF Act, deposit banks and insurance companies had not invested in the fund.
He observed that an analysis of total loans and advances by the commercial and merchant banks in 2016 was N15 trillion.
“At the rate of 10 per cent, the CBN pursuant to Section 11 is supposed to have credited the NHF with the sum of N1.5 trillion by March 2017,’’ he said.
Khalil said that if the Federal Government was to create at least one million new homes through a national mortgage single digit interest rate, it would require N6 trillion.
“It follows, therefore, that at the current official figure of 17 million housing deficit, the Federal Government will require N102 trillion,’’ he said.
Mrs Hannatu Fika, Executive Secretary, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, therefore, noted that providing incentives for the capital market to invest in property development was crucial in proffering sustainable solutions to housing deficit in the country.
She urged the Federal Government to encourage the development of specific programmes that would ensure effective financing of housing development, particularly low-cost housing for low income earners.
In his reaction, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, Managing Director of FMBN, said banks and insurance companies in Nigeria were required to be investing in the NHF scheme but they defaulted.
He said unless these provisions of the act were complied with, the pool of funds available for mortgage financing at affordable interest rate would continue to be inadequate.
“This means that the FMBN will be unable to make low interest mortgages available to Nigerians as the 2.5 per cent workers monthly contribution is grossly inadequate, especially that of the medium income earners,’’ he observed.
However, Mr Ahmad Kaita, the Chairman, House Committee on Housing, stated that the committee, in line with the legislative agenda of the House of Representatives, had recognised the need to provide required legal and legislative frameworks to ensure affordable housing for Nigerians.
Similarly, Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara reiterated the commitment of the house to initiate a legislative framework that would address housing deficit in the country.
He expressed concern that policies designed to provide adequate housing for Nigerians had not yielded positive results due to violation of the NHF Act by the stakeholders.
He also emphasised the need to unravel the reason why some stakeholders in the housing sector failed to comply with the NHF Act and the Federal Mortgage Bank Act.
“The National Housing Fund is designed to assist the public servants and private sector employees while saving a percentage of their income.
“The government, through mortgage banks, is expected to provide loans to real estate developers to build low cost houses for Nigerians.
“But both programmes are not yielding the desired result as houses are still not within the reach of Nigerians,’’ Dogara said.
He, nonetheless, said the legislature would collaborate with the stakeholders in ensuring safe and affordable homes.
For affordable houses, the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, pleaded with shareholders to pay up their equities to actualise the planned recapitalisation of FMBN.
Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Barnabas Gemade, listed the shareholders to include the Federal Government, Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.
He observed that the CBN had vital role to play in making the FMBN function effectively by exercising its statutory roles, especially in the areas of funding and regulation.
“The N5 billion capital base of the FMBN is low and the shareholders should hasten up by increasing the capital base to reflect current realities.
“CBN should sanction commercial banks that defaulted in remitting 10 per cent of their loan portfolio to FMBN as investment to the development of a virile mortgage industry as required by the law,’’ he said.
He promised that the committee would also ensure amendment of both the FMBN and NHF Acts to make the bank function effectively.
Gemade noted that N100 billion was approved in 2017 budget as intervention fund to support mortgage activities in the country.
He directed the bank to follow up the matter with its supervisory ministry, noting that the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing should contact the Federal Ministry of Finance to secure the release of the fund.
