The Federal Government has started the allocation process for 8,925 houses across Nigeria as part of the National Housing Programme (NHP).
Marcus Ogunbiyi, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, made this announcement in a statement released on Monday in Abuja.
Under the “Renewed Hope” agenda, the government had earmarked N50 billion on November 1, 2023, to finance the construction of 40,000 housing units.
Ogunbiyi revealed that the first batch of allocations had been concluded following a review of the conditions and procedures for house sales under the NHP.
A total of 8,925 applications were received, with 1,294 opting for outright payment, 2,408 for mortgage, 2,184 for rent-to-own, and 3,039 for installment payment modes, according to Ogunbiyi.
New provisional allocation letters for successful applicants in the outright payment category are now available.
The federal controllers of housing and urban development in the states, as well as the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), will begin contacting successful applicants for collection from Thursday onwards.
Applicants under the mortgage, rent-to-own, and installment payment modes, who must be subscribers to the National Housing Fund (NHF), are currently undergoing profiling, Ogunbiyi added.
He said, “Out of a total of 8925 applications that were received,1,294 were for outright payment, 2408 for mortgage, 2184 for rent to own and 3039 were for instalment payment modes.
“The offer of new provisional allocation letters for the first batch of successful applicants under the outright payment mode are now ready.
“The successful subscribers would be contacted by the federal controllers of housing and urban development in the states as well as the chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) from Thursday for collection.”
However, Ogunbiyi noted that there were no completed houses yet in Abia, Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers States, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Allocation in these states will occur after the completion of the housing units later in the year.
What Is National Housing Programme (NHP)?
The NHF, a federal government scheme, allows all Nigerians above the age of 21 years in paid employment to access low-interest, government-funded loans.
Members contribute 2.5 percent of their monthly salary to the fund through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.
Previously, the maximum loan obtainable under the NHF was N5 million, but it has now been increased to N15 million.
The borrowed capital is repayable over a maximum period of 30 years at an interest rate of six percent.