The federal government on Thursday directed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to channel at least 40 percent of the annual National Housing Fund (NHF) contributions into mortgage financing as part of efforts to expand home ownership, attract private investment and tackle Nigeria’s housing deficit.
Speaking at the BusinessDay Abuja Real Estate Conference 2026, Mustapha Rabe Darma, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, said the bank must increase the number of mortgages it disburses annually from about 500 to at least 2,000 to expand home ownership across the country.
He said the ministry was finalising a comprehensive regulatory framework for the housing and built environment, which would soon be presented to stakeholders before approval by the Federal Housing Council.
According to him, the reforms include developer licensing, escrow protection for homebuyers’ funds, professional registration, stricter construction quality control, land value capture, urban renewal initiatives, land readjustment programmes and the
