Firm trains 1,000 artisans, builds homes for widows

L-R: Non-Executive Director,Eniang Nkang; Executive Director, Abdullahi Musa; Non-Executive Director, Bilikisu Usman; MD/CEO, Abdul Mutallab Mukthar; Chairman, Ademola Adebise; Non-Executive Director, Ijeoma Taylaur; Non-Executive Director, Abdulqawil Bello; Executive Director Operation, Dr.Emeka Inegbu.

Family Homes Funds Limited says it has trained 572 artisans this year, with more than 500 others undergoing training, as part of efforts to improve construction quality and expand affordable housing delivery.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FHFL, Abdul Mukhtar, disclosed this at a media parley in Abuja on Tuesday, saying the programme covered both skilled workers seeking to improve their skills and people with no prior experience.

“This year, we have an extensive training of artisans underway, upskilling them, and then those who have zero skills. So we have graduated 572 this year, and we have another 500 plus,” he said.

Mukhtar said the training combined classroom lessons, practical sessions and field experience, adding that those who graduated earlier in the year were still undergoing field training.

He said FHFL was also working with professional bodies, governments, development finance institutions and property developers to improve construction practices and encourage the adoption of better building technologies.

“We have to go to the state government, we have to go to the federal government, we have to go to development, finance institutions, we have to tell the developers also, see, you have to build differently and better,” he said.

According to him, the institution was showcasing how quickly social housing projects could be delivered using different construction technologies while experimenting with locally available building materials.

Mukhtar also said FHFL had diversified its funding sources beyond the naira to include foreign currencies such as the euro and the dollar to meet its financial obligations.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Operations at FHFL, Emeka Inegbu, said the institution was one of the major funding partners for the Renewed Hope housing estates in Karsana, Abuja, where construction had progressed through the first and second phases.

He said FHFL had also provided advisory services for a similar housing renewal programme in Kano and financed private sector developers across the country.

Inegbu said the institution was working to ensure that the benefits of housing finance reached homebuyers rather than being absorbed by developers or primary mortgage banks.

He explained that FHFL did not lend directly to individual homebuyers but worked through primary mortgage banks and other mortgage institutions.

• APC won’t be denied Mapo Hall for campaign – Makinde
• DUPLICATE:::: Army chief warns soldiers against drug abuse, stigma
• APC, others can use Mapo Hall if conditions met — Makinde

“We don’t do retail, so we do not engage the individual to provide funding for them. We partner with private primary mortgage banks, what we also call primary mortgage institutions, who are partners with us,” he said.

Inegbu said funding secured from the African Human Bank had helped FHFL commence its mortgage programme, adding that the institution had provided more than 450 mortgages by the middle of the year.

He also disclosed that FHFL was preparing to commission two completed student accommodation projects in Akwa Ibom and Delta states in the coming weeks.

According to him, each location would provide 1,600 bed spaces, comprising 800 for female students and 800 for male students, alongside recreational, catering and laundry facilities.

The executive director said FHFL had also completed housing projects for vulnerable groups, including widows and families of fallen military personnel.

He disclosed that 100 social housing units had been completed in Rigachukwu, Kaduna State, for widows, while another 50 units had been delivered to wives of fallen military personnel in Ibadan, Oyo State.

“We had completed 100 units in Kaduna, which were given out as social houses that are efficient and built for free,” he said.

He added that the 50 houses in Ibadan had been commissioned and handed over to the beneficiaries, describing the experience as one of the most touching moments of his professional career.

Also speaking, the Chairman of FHFL, Ademola Adebise, said that addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit required stronger institutions capable of attracting investment and supporting large-scale housing delivery.

“Access to decent, affordable housing remains a critical development priority for Nigeria. Addressing the scale of the challenge requires institutions that can mobilise capital, strengthen partnerships and create the conditions for housing delivery at scale,” he said.

Adebise added that FHFL’s new identity reflected its ambition to deepen its role in housing delivery and create greater value for Nigerian families and the wider economy.