The Federal Mortgage
Bank of Nigeria came into limelight upon the establishment of the NHF Act No. 3
of 1992. It has broad aims and objectives, among others it includes to:- Facilitate the mobilization of funds for the provision of houses for Nigerians at affordable rates,
- Ensure constant supply of loans to Nigerians for the purpose of building, purchasing and improvement of residential houses
- Provide incentives for the capital market to invest in property development.
- Encourage the development of specific programmes that would ensure effective financing of housing developments, in particular, low cost housing, for low income workers
- Provide proper policy control over the allocation of resources and funds between the housing sector and other sectors of the Nigerian economy, and
- Provide long-term loans to mortgage institutions for on-lending to contributors to the fund
In view of the
foregoing, is participation in the NHF(National Housing Fund) Scheme compulsory? Absolutely yes. The
NHF Act No. 3 of 1992 stipulates that a Nigerian-worker earning the minimum
national wage and above per annum in either the public or private sectors of
the economy shall contribute 2.5% of his/her basic monthly salary to the Fund.
Though this provision makes it compulsory for Nigerian workers to participate
in the scheme, it should be seen as also offering them the opportunity to enjoy
the numerous benefits of the scheme.
CAN SELF-EMPLOYED
INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATE IN THE SCHEME?
Oh yes. The NHF Act
also stipulates that self-employed individuals contribute 2.5% of his or her
monthly income to the fund.
HOW DOES ONE MAKE
CONTRIBUTIONS?
The employer is
required to deduct 2.5% from the monthly basic salaries of workers and remit it
to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria(FMBN) within one month of the deduction.
As for self-employed individuals, they
are to pay their contributions directly to any of the Bank’s offices located in
all State Capitals. All payments must be duly receipted.
HOW TO KNOW THE
STATUS OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS
This is easy and
simple: FMBN, as fund managers, releases periodic account statements of
contributors. Your don’t have to worry about the safety of your contribution,
because you get a unique participation number. This serves as account number
which remains unchanged irrespective of transfer or change of work place.
Additionally, contribution records are computerized and statements of accounts
are issued to individual contributors periodically.
For further inquiries, call 07054107283(also whatsapp)
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