• Loan disbursements rise from N31.5bn to N79bn
•Bank targets informal workers through new partnerships
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) yesterday disclosed that it financed 6,911 housing units in 2025, a 300 per cent increase from the 2,165 units delivered in 2024.
The bank also announced that it had stepped up efforts to expand access to affordable housing through strategic partnerships and new financing products targeted at low income and informal sector workers.
Managing Director and Chief Executive of FMBN, Shehu Osidi, spoke in Abuja during the 2026 FMBN Day at the Africa International Housing Show (AIHS), where he said collaboration had become indispensable to addressing Nigeria’s huge housing deficit.
Speaking on the theme: “Leveraging Partnerships for Sustainable Affordable Housing for Low Income and Informal Workers,” Osidi stressed that the government alone could not bridge the country’s housing gap, particularly for informal workers who make up more than two thirds of Nigeria’s workforce but remain largely excluded from conventional mortgage finance.
According to him, many Nigerians in the informal sector have irregular income patterns, lack the documentation required by commercial lenders and are unable to meet the equity contribution demanded under traditional mortgage arrangements, making tailored financing solutions imperative.
He stated that the bank’s achievements over the past year were driven by partnerships with the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the National Assembly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), state governments, organised labour, developers, Primary Mortgage Banks, cooperative societies and development finance institutions.
Osidi noted that project loan disbursements rose sharply from N31.5 billion in 2024 to N79 billion in 2025, describing it as one of the highest levels of construction financing ever provided by the bank. He added that the investments had created thousands of jobs for artisans, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, suppliers, transporters and other players across the housing value chain.
He said the bank also expanded access to its mortgage products, with regular National Housing Fund (NHF) mortgage disbursements increasing to N8.2 billion, representing a 38 per cent rise over the previous year.
Under its Rent to Own scheme, Osidi said 367 beneficiaries obtained homes valued at more than N7.1 billion, while the Home Renovation Loan programme recorded its highest ever performance, with N13.8 billion disbursed to 15,290 beneficiaries, an 86 per cent increase from 2024.
The FMBN boss further revealed that NHF refund payments rose to N15.6 billion in 2025, benefiting 55,068 contributors, compared with 44,333 beneficiaries in the previous year, while loan recoveries almost doubled from N14 billion to N27.3 billion.
According to him, the bank is currently financing 3,139 housing units under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Housing Programme through construction financing of N27 billion for the Ibeju Lekki project in Lagos, N19.9 billion for Karsana in Abuja, N10 billion for Port Harcourt and N7.8 billion for Enugu.
Osidi said renewed confidence in the National Housing Fund Scheme was reflected in the decision of the Oyo State Government to rejoin the scheme after 27 years and the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement by the Kano State Government to return after more than two decades outside the programme.
He also announced that FMBN had developed new products to widen financial inclusion, including a Non Interest Mortgage Product, a Diaspora NHF Mortgage and a Rent Assistance Loan.
In addition, he disclosed that the bank was formalising a partnership with the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board to provide multiple mortgage options for federal civil servants covering home ownership, renovation, rent support and incremental housing development.
Osidi reiterated that sustainable affordable housing could only be achieved through stronger collaboration among governments, financial institutions, developers, investors, regulators, labour unions and cooperative societies, while calling for innovative financing models capable of meeting the needs of millions of Nigerians in the informal economy.
He reaffirmed FMBN’s commitment to ensuring that affordable housing becomes accessible not only to workers in formal employment but also to artisans, traders, farmers, transport operators, small business owners and other self-employed Nigerians who contribute significantly to the nation’s economy.
“Today, Nigeria faces an estimated housing deficit running into millions of units, with the burden falling disproportionately on low-income earners and the informal sector, which constitutes well over two-third of our nation’s workforce. Ironically, these are the very Nigerians who contribute immensely to national productivity yet remain the most financially excluded from formal housing finance systems.
“Many Nigerians have irregular income patterns. Many lack formal documentation demanded by conventional lenders. Many cannot accumulate the sizable equity contributions required to access traditional mortgage finance. Yet these Nigerians deserve decent homes. They deserve access to affordable mortgage products designed around their realities rather than around conventional banking assumptions.
“Unfortunately, this challenge cannot be solved by the government alone. Neither can it be solved by financial institutions acting in isolation. It requires deliberate collaboration among government, housing finance institutions, developers, state governments, organised labour, cooperative societies, development finance institutions and the private sector.
“Partnership, therefore, is no longer optional. It has become the most sustainable pathway towards achieving affordable housing at scale. The choice of today’s theme and the discussions intended to be generated from it are therefore deliberate,” Osidi maintained.
Osidi stated that the Bank has not only sustained that momentum but has significantly exceeded many of the milestones it had set for itself.
One of the strategic priorities of the current management, he said, has also been to ensure that mortgage finance becomes more accessible, more inclusive and more responsive to the realities of Nigerians.
Accordingly, he explained that the bank recorded significant improvements across all its housing finance products.
“Regular NHF mortgage disbursements increased to N8.2 billion, representing a 38 per cent increase over the previous year. Our Rent-to-Own product continued to provide opportunities for Nigerians with 367 beneficiaries accessing homes valued at over N7.1 billion.
“Similarly, our Home Renovation Loan recorded unprecedented growth. In 2025, we disbursed a record N13.8 billion to 15,290 beneficiaries, representing an 86 per cent increase over the previous year,” the FMBN CEO stated.