The Federal Government has commenced the allocation of 8,925 houses to eligible applicants across the country through the National Housing Programme (NHP).
An announcement made by the government revealed that there were no finished houses yet in Abia, Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers states, and the FCT.
These details were disclosed in a statement released by Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, in Abuja.
As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday, the NHF is a government initiative that provides low-interest, government-backed loans to all Nigerian employees aged 21 and above.
Participants in the scheme are required to contribute 2.5% of their monthly salary to the fund through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.
The maximum loan amount available through the NHF used to be N5 million but has now been raised to N15 million.
Borrowers can repay the capital over a maximum period of 30 years at an interest rate of 6%.
Ogunbiyi mentioned that the initial phase of the allocation process was completed following a review of the requirements and procedures for house sales under the NHP.
“Of the total 8925 applications received, 1,294 were for outright payment, 2,408 for mortgage, 2,184 for Rent to own, and 3,039 for installment payment modes.
“New Provisional Allocation Letters for the first set of successful applicants opting for the Outright Payment mode have been prepared.
“Successful subscribers will be contacted by the Federal Controllers of Housing and Urban Development in the states, as well as the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) starting from Thursday for collection.”
Ogunbiyi added that applicants in the Mortgage, Rent-to-own, and installment payment categories, who must be contributors to the National Housing Fund, are currently undergoing profiling.
The permanent secretary reiterated that there were no completed houses yet in Abia, Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers states, and the FCT.
He mentioned that the housing units in the mentioned states will be allocated once they are completed later in the year.
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