The Cooperative Financing Agency of Nigeria (CFAN), has appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to include housing as part of its financial inclusion strategy.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, CFAN, Emmanuel Atama, made the appeal at the 6th CFAN summit in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Atama argued that including housing in the CBN financial inclusion drive will help CFAN members in the rural areas to have better access to housing and be financially included.
He said the summit was aimed at assessing how financial inclusion products can create jobs and wealth for a more secure living among the cooperative movement in the country.
The Executive Secretary listed the CBN’s financial inclusion products to include savings, credit, pension, insurance and capital market.
“The summit will dwell on three major issues of housing, agriculture and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The CBN should include housing in their financial inclusion drive.
“The way the monies are allocated to MSMEs, they should also consider housing,” he said.
The President of CFAN, Sadeeq Abubakar, said the summit aimed to analyse the cooperative business environment with a view to addressing the challenges and prospects into the opportunities that abound in the economy.
…including housing in the CBN financial inclusion drive will help CFAN members in the rural areas to have better access to housing and be financially included.
Abubakar said financial inclusion products and CBN’s drive positively impacted CFAN members.
Head, Financial Inclusion of CBN, Dr Paul Oluikpe, said stakeholders’ collaboration is key to improving financial inclusion in Nigeria.
Oluikpe, represented by Mrs Comfort Okafor of the bank, described cooperative development as a critical pillar for driving financial inclusion for adult Nigerians and cannot be overemphasised.
The Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Madu Hamman, said the bank’s Cooperative Housing Development Loan (CHDL), provides construction funding for cooperatives registered under National Housing Fund (NHF).
Hamman, represented by his Special Assistant, Dominic Agabi, said the bank has extended its cooperative loan window to the informal sector, to enable every citizen to have equal access to both construction and off take financing.
He said the loan was disbursed to cooperative societies at an interest rate of 9.5%.
Hamman, who corroborated CFAN’s appeal for housing to be included as one of the financial inclusion strategies, said it will help more co-operators access housing loans.
The two-day summit attracted cooperative societies and members from different states. (NAN)
