The Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc says it is intensifying processes to ensure that civil servants in Lagos State have access to funding and own homes.
The Chairman of LBIC, Mr Hakeem Ogunniran, said this on Wednesday while speaking to journalists after paying a courtesy visit to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Lagos House, Ikeja.
Ogunniran said that the company was ready to key into Gov. Sanwo-Olu administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S. developmental agenda, especially in the area of affordable housing for Lagosians.
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He said that his company would build a framework to support the Lagos state government in delivering its promises to the people of the state.
“We are on a courtesy call on the governor, first, to appreciate him for giving us the opportunity to serve and also to share with him our vision and programmes, and how we want to work with the government to key into the developmental agenda of Lagos state.
“As FBIC, we understand that housing is at the root of all the programmes of Lagos State and we have a programme in place. First is to focus on our core business, which is mortgage banking.
“Recently, Lagos state returned to the National Housing Fund (NHF) and we are grateful that the state government has appointed our bank – FBIC – as its sole mortgage provider, so we are the default mortgage provider for all civil servants in Lagos state.
“So we are creating the framework to implement that. We already have funding from the Federal Mortgage Bank of N1 billion and we need to begin to see how civil servants in Lagos state will be able to access that funding and own their homes,’’ Ogunniran said.
He also said that LBIC had an ongoing programme at Surulere, some 340,000 housing units, which would add to the stock of housing in Lagos state and further reduce the deficit.
“We have started a PPP programme. The other element of our programme is to unlock value in our asset, which is sitting either on our own direct asset or the Lagos state government asset.
“So as a board, we understand the significance of our role and our plan is to work with management to ensure that we build a framework that enables us to support the Lagos state government to deliver its promise to the citizens,” he said.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of LBIC, Mr Tobi Lawal, said that the company would provide mortgage for housing in Lagos State, particularly for civil servants and citizens of Lagos state.
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“For us, there is a revolving fund which the governor just mentioned. This fund is going to be created in such a way that people, particularly the civil servants, will have access to money, facility to buy those houses that they like to buy and in such a way that the proceeds of that sale will be invested in building another housing for other people.
“So for us as a primary mortgage bank, we are ready to perform our role in this regard and I can assure you that not only in terms of money that we are providing, even speed, that the process be so fast. Such that the housing you need today, the money is paid yesterday.
“I am using this medium to appeal to every citizen who wants a house of their own that they should come to FBIC for the needed mortgage facility,” Lawal said.
NAN
