The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2020

  • ‘Access to housing finance to grow by 2020’

    A former Managing Director of Shelter-Afrique, Nairobi, Kenya, Mr F. P. O. Fortune-Ebie, has predicted that access to housing finance will grow from 0.5 to 30 per cent by 2020.

    He spoke at a housing summit in Lagos.

    He said finance of the mortgage sector, including mortgage-backed securities, would grow from zero per cent to 20 per cent.

    Ebie, who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), however, said the sector would only move forward if the contribution of mortgage finance to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grows from 0.76 per cent to 15 per cent.

    According to him, housing is part of a critical infrastructure to accelerate economic development and also forms a substantial part of the GDP of most developed countries.

    He estimated that with a population of 150 million people, the nation requires at least 720,000 housing units per annum not only to replenish decaying housing stock, but also to meet rising demand and avert a further housing crisis by 2020.

    The MBAN chief canvassed the setting of yearly targets for housing delivery by building an average of one million new housing yearly and the diversification of funding structure in support of the housing sector.

    Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola said the state has fashioned a mortgage scheme targeted at first home buyers who reside in the state.

    He explained that it is a rent-to-own scheme to forestall the menace of Shylock landlords/landladies while ensuring that citizens are decently housed.

    On how it works, he explained that a prospective homeowner is expected to contribute only 30 per cent of the cost of the unit he intends to purchase and then pays the remainder on instalment over a period of 10-15 years.

    Fashola revealed that a mortgage division has been created at the state judiciary to ensure that matters relating to mortgage transactions are expeditiously handled.

    The governor said the success of the sector depends on the cooperation between the public and private sector. The efforts of these two sectors and the cooperation from stakeholders will improve the housing delivery in the country.

    He stressed that the country must have a virile mortgage sector to deliver houses to the people which will not only create jobs for both professionals and artisans but also benefit dealers in building materials.

     

  • NNPC eyes 40b barrels reserves, 4m bpd production by 2020

    NNPC eyes 40b barrels reserves, 4m bpd production by 2020

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it is determined to grow oil reserves from its current level of 37 billion barrels to 40 billion barrels by 2020.

    Speaking in Kaduna State at a reception organised by the state government in honour of some of its illustrious sons and daughter, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, who also is one of the illustrious sons of the state, stated that apart from ensuring an increase in the level of proven oil reserves, the corporation is working assiduously towards increasing daily production from the current 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to four million bpd by 2020.

    Nigeria’s production of crude oil now averages at 2.4 million barrels daily after recording an all time high of 2.7million bpd late July.

    Yakubu said: “As we endeavour to achieve effective transformation of the oil and gas industry in line with the transformation agenda of Mr President, our target is to ensure that we grow our proven crude reserves to 40 billion by 2020 and also increase our production to four million barrels per day by 2020.”

    Yakubu assured that the NNPC and its Joint Venture partners, are strategically focused on power generation through effective alignment with the power supply aspiration of the Federal Government.

    He said the NNPC is also working on strategic upgrade of gas infrastructure in Kaduna and other Northern states to help resuscitate the ailing textile industry in that part of the country. He reassured residents of Kaduna and adjoining states of adequate supply of petroleum products, noting that Kaduna Refinery is producing about four million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) per day.

    “The Kaduna Refinery is one of the best run in the country today. It produces four million litres of PMS every couple of days and this has helped us to stabilise supply in Kaduna and its environs especially at this trying period,” he said.

    He pledged that the plan to ensure complete turnaround and rehabilitation of the country’s refineries is still intact as the lead equipment for the TAM of Port Harcourt Refinery has since arrived. “Once we are done with Port Harcourt Refinery, Kaduna will be next in line and from there we move to Warri Refinery,” he added.

    Yakubu thanked the government and people of Kaduna State for the special recognition, noting that it is reassuring to know that “you are loved back home when embarking on a journey like this.”

    The event, which had Vice-President Namadi Sambo as special guest of honour and former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Muhammadu Lawal Uwais as Chairman conferred awards to three other prominent indigenes of Kaduna State. These include: Minister of the Environment Hajiya Hadiza Mailafia; Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Kumai Akaahs and National Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha.

    In his remarks, the Vice-President commended Yakubu for piloting the corporation in the right direction especially the recent effort to resuscitate the search for oil in the inland sedimentary basins particularly the Chad Basin, which has shown some significant breakthroughs.

    The Kaduna State Governor, Sir Ibrahim Yakowa, corroborated the Vice-President and praised Yakubu for his focus and sterling leadership qualities.