The Senate on Wednesday expressed concern over the federal government’s N150 billion investment in real estate fund at the expense of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria’s (FMBN) capital share.

The government, through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), had subscribed to the N150 billion series 1 offering under the MOFI real estate investment fund (MREIF) as the sponsor and anchor investor.

According to a statement by the ministry, the development marked a major step towards addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit and expanding access to affordable homeownership.

But the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, said the Red Chamber finds it absurd that the federal government “is funding MOFI with over N150 billion, while they’re yet to pay their Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) capital share.”

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He spoke in Lagos at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development 2025 sector retreat with the theme ‘Actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Development: Examining Strategies, Identifying Opportunities to Boost Scale and Impact’. 

Tambuwal expressed the Senate’s commitment to supporting the FMBN in its recapitalisation efforts to enhance its capacity to deliver affordable housing to Nigerians and reduce the national housing deficit. 

He also hinted at the efforts of his committee to reinstate the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in the federal budget to allow it to replicate past successes such as FESTAC Town and Gwarinpa Estate. 

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, disclosed that the majority of Nigeria’s 43 million households are living in substandard housing, underscoring the huge housing deficit.

According to him, the housing sector is one that has suffered political neglect since the period immediately after independence, when emphasis was placed on five-year Development Plans as a vehicle for economic growth.

Dangiwa disclosed that within 19 months, the current administration has developed 14 active construction sites for a total of 10,112 housing units.

“However, history is not our reference point. The size of the housing problem, which requires us to build at least 500,000 housing units annually, is what we have set our eyes on. 

On his part, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Urban Development and Regional Planning, Abiante Awaji, called for a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach to solving the housing challenge in Nigeria.