Mortgage Financing: Best News Of The Year For 20m Diaspora Nigerians

This could be the best news of the year for 20 million Nigerians as it has to do with mortgage financing, an important element of their survival and welfare.

It is a known fact how millions of countrymen and women who had served the nation over the years, but without a mortgage finance programme, retire, not having a roof over their heads.

Some have had to wonder from place to place, after being ejected by landlords, many eventually taking their own lives out of frustration.

Coupled with the selfish attitudes of some landlords who demand years in advance rent, many more could be sighted within the neigbourhoods living denigrating and pitiable lives, including begging and sleeping at garages or by the street corners.

Now, however, there appears to be ainbreeder from the federal government, in the form of mortgage financing.

Though this particular initiative is centred on Diaspora Nigerians, there are optimism that the same gesture would soon sweep those at home, through either a review of existing programmes or the  introduction of news ones.

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The Eagle reports that the Federal government had just recently earmarked N40billion for housing provision under the “Renewed Hope Agenda of the current government”, as contained in the supplementary budget of year 2024.

The government is following up on that based on the stance of the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arch. Ahmed Dangiwa, earlier today.

Speaking particularly on Nigerians in the Diaspora, he said there was now a mortgage scheme for Nigerians in the United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada, set for formal launching next February,

He described it as “Diaspora Mortgage Housing Scheme in the UK, USA and Canada” when he received the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and some Management Staff in his office in Abuja.

A statement signed by Gabriel Odu from the Protocol Unit of the Nigerian Disapora Commission (NiDCOM) stated in part: “The overall goal is to ensure that as our brothers and sisters sojourn abroad, they also have a decent shelter over here in Nigeria to call their home”.

“The project is situated at Maitama 2, with over 675 hectares of land,” the statement noted.

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Commending the Minister for the mortgage financing initiative, Abike Dabiri-Erewa noted that Nigerians in Diaspora are enthusiastic about both the Diaspora mortgage scheme and the upcoming Diaspora smart city in Kabusa, Maitama, FCT.

The Eagle reports that at a dinner last year, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Sow Real Estate, Mrs Uzo Onukwubiri had stated that over 30 per cent of Nigerians, about 62 million people are now facing serious housing challenges.

Also, 80 per cent of the country’s 206 million people live in informal housing, plagued by problems related to poor quality and inadequate infrastructure, Vanguard has learned.

It is believed that this would not have been so, had there been a sustainable mortgage finance programme in place for Nigerians.