‘My mandate is to make houses affordable’

As the Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Mortgage and Foreclosure Authority, YAHAYA ALIYU LERE is responsible for providing a conducive environment for access to mortgages, to enable residents to own houses.

In this interview, the ex-banker explains what his team is doing to make this possible.

Not many people have heard of the Kaduna State Mortgage and Foreclosure Authority. Is it correct to say that it is Kaduna State’s equivalent of National Housing Fund?

Kaduna State Mortgage and Foreclosure Authority was established through an enactment of Kaduna State House of Assembly called, the “Kaduna State Law Number 10,’’ which was passed on June 15th , 2017. The Authority was primarily established with a mandate to create a conducive environment for accessible and affordable mortgages for the benefit of residents of the State. Let me give you a little background on how this Authority was created.
The State Government, under the able and visionary leadership of our Governor, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, sees housing as one of the three basic human needs after, food and clothing. He found out that there is a wide gap in housing provision, which is estimated at over 23million in Nigeria. An estimated N60trillion is needed to bridge the national deficit according to a World Bank survey. There is nonetheless a huge untapped potential in the sector, which more than any sector, offers greater opportunities for economic growth, income generation, welfare of citizens and wealth creation at large.

The Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank, a few years ago, initiated the Nigeria Housing Finance Programme which seeks to address the key barrier of access to finance to developing accessible and affordable housing in Nigeria. In the end, this will set a growth process in motion that will deliver increased homes as well as generate direct and indirect jobs. For this reason, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) was set up under this programme as a private sector driven company, primarily with the aim of removing barriers to home ownership, providing liquidity, affordability, accessibility and stability in the housing market.

So Kaduna State expressed its interest to collaborate with NMRC towards developing an enabling environment for successful implementation of the programme. It signed an MOU with them on March 2nd, 2017. The States are to ensure the passage of the draft Model Mortgage and Foreclosure Law and to domesticate it before they can benefit from the programme.

Has Kaduna State domesticated the law? If not, at what stage is it in the legislation process?

Kaduna State was the first to domesticate this Mortgage and Foreclosure Law in Nigeria; the State Assembly passed it on the 15th June, 2017, barely three months after signing the MOU as mentioned earlier. Another vital role expected from the State Government was to undertake reforms in land administration, titling, and registration etc.

The main barrier for investors in the housing sector and even private individuals is the issue of Titles and certification which is very cumbersome nationwide as it varies from one State to another. So, it is expected that for any state to benefit, it should overhaul the process of issuing Titles which must be transparent, efficient, digitalised and be issued within a very short period. Kaduna State Government has overhauled Kaduna State Geographic Information Service (KADGIS), where certificates are being issued now within a short period in an transparently efficient and secure manner.

The essence of this Foreclosure law is to harmonise and unify the mortgage laws across the country for efficiency and to give more comfort to investors in the housing market. Litigations on housing and mortgage issues can drag on for several years in some States but this law clearly specified that litigations must be completed within 180 days maximum. It is worthy to note that the World Bank rated Kaduna as the number one State in Nigeria on the Ease of Doing Business, which is a big plus to the Government in the eyes of investors within and outside Nigeria.

The law seems to be over reaching itself, when it stipulates that housing and mortgage matters should not exceed 180 days. In litigation, there are adjournments and other technicalities that may make the matter exceed the stipulated number of days. Don’t you think so?

The Judicial arm of Government is fully aware about the provision of this law, so any foreclosure matter which comes up for adjudication cannot and will not exceed 180 days. Although they may not specifically assign a court purely for adjudication on these issues as required by the law but whenever the cases come up, any court assigned to them will treat them within the stipulated period as spelt out in the Mortgage and Foreclosure Law.

But if a litigant is dissatisfied with the judgement, he or she can appeal and clearly, this may overshoot the 180 days stipulated in the law.

The provision of the law is very clear, but let’s leave that for lawyers to argue.

What is the average waiting period for getting a Title or Certificate of Occupancy from Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS)?

This question is best answered by KADGIS but I know that once you meet all their requirements, you can get your certificate within a short period.

So, what other criteria should Kaduna State meet in order to make it eligible for the NMRC financing Programme?

Aside the overhauling the titling process, the State will equally assist developers to provide infrastructure; the State Government is expected to provide roads, electricity, water etc. The Government is already doing that; most areas that are being developed now, especially the Millennium City, necessary infrastructures are being extended to these locations and several others.

The NMRC was actually satisfied with the State government efforts in meeting most of the requirements, that was why it came to Kaduna on the 3rd of October 2019 and signed a Tripartite Agreement with the State Government and FHA Mortgage Bank Ltd, to pool together the sum of N3 billion for the financing of mortgages, at a single digit interest rate, for qualified public servants and residents. Furthermore, the State has almost met all the conditions of the agreement. Very soon, we would commence the mortgage financing. Operational guidelines and other procedures are currently being harmonized, completed for effective commencement of the financing programme, which will no doubt assist in increasing home ownership, especially for the lower and middle income category.

Given all that Kaduna State has done to meet the requirements of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company, has any company expressed interest in starting any project?

Don’t forget Kaduna State Mortgage and Foreclosure Authority will only be into financing of mortgages and not actual construction of the houses. But as I speak with you, the State Government is into Public-Private-Partnership with so many Developers and interested investors like Family Homes, Rapidac, Tripple A, NuruSiraj, Ryhno Ng Ltd, Tayjee, Maurice, Ummhi International and so many others have already keyed into the policy through the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The agency and Ministry are currently constructing hundreds of houses within the metropolis, especially at Millennium city, Kamazou, Sobawa, Rigachukun, Ungwan Tanko, Buwaya, Eastern Bypass etc. Government cannot provide all the housing needs of the State alone; that is why it has to partner with other stakeholders.

Are you involved in the new Kaduna project, which will be located near the Federal Capital Territory? What is it all about?

Part of the Authority’s mandate is to act as intermediary between the State, its residents and mortgage brokers and lenders. We also seek for other stakeholders to come and invest. As I speak with you, we have contacted Shelter Afrique, a financial institution that specialises in financing affordable houses in Africa. Forty four African countries are shareholders in that company and Nigeria is the third largest but we have never benefited from it. Discussions are still ongoing and they are very eager to partner with the State in this area with a minimum amount of $15million as a start.

Of course, there are other interested companies that have equally shown interest in this business because Kaduna State’s rating as number one in the Ease of Doing Business by World Bank. There is this company called Echo Stone Nigeria, that has a technology of building houses within 14days. They also showed interest in building affordable houses in the State, especially along the Abuja-Jere-Kaduna axis and also where the African Steel Company is located. Representatives of the company have inspected the area with a view to making submission to the State. Discussions are still ongoing and once completed, the affordable housing project would get a huge boost with additional homes, aside the creation of jobs to our teeming unemployed youth, provision of necessary fillip to the economic growth of the State as a whole.