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The federal government has appointed an acting Managing Director for the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), following the dissolution of the board of the country’s apex mortgage bank two weeks ago.
Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Nduesse Essien, who promised that a new board would soon be reconstituted, noted that government took the action in response to the lingering controversy over the constitution of the FMBN board and in line with plans to reposition it to effectively drive the mortgage subsector of the nation‘s economy.
“We received several petitions from stakeholders who kicked against the constitution of the FMBN‘s board. In line with the policy of the present administration and its respect for the rule of law, we had painstakingly investigated the claims contained in the petitions. After due consideration, the Federal Government has decided to dissolve the board and will reconstitute a new one soon,” the minister stated.
*Lekki Estate, Lagos
It would be recalled that a group of stakeholders in the housing industry had petitioned the Housing Minister some months ago, calling for a probe of the finances of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN). They also called for an urgent reconstitution of the board of the apex mortgage bank, claiming that the constitution of the board violated the FMBN Act, the CBN Code of Corporate Governance, and international best practices.
The petitioners contended that the lopsided nature of the FMBN board gave the executive management unlimited and excessive powers to run the institution arbitrarily without checks and balances. Other allegations in the petition included: absence of board committees meant to separate policy formulation from policy implementation and thus ensure transparency; over-promotion of some staff members of the bank; failure to declare a profit since 1993; total reliance on contribution from the National Housing Fund for its operations; most loans for both estate development and primary mortgage are non-performing; and except for 2005, FMBN’s accounts have never been audited and printed.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mike Nwogbo has been appointed as the chief executive officer of FMBN, in acting capacity, to replace the former managing director, Mr. Abdusalam Ahmed who was swept away along with the dissolved board.
Nwogbo, a 1985 graduate, holds several academic qualifications which include an MBA and BSc. in Business Management from the University of Lagos and the University of Nigeria Nsukka, respectively. He is an Associate Member, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ACA); Associate Member, Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB); Associate Member, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (ACS), Associate Member, Nigerian Institute Management (NIM), and a Registered Market Operator with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Until his appointment, Nwogbo was the General Manager in-charge of Securities Issuance and Market Development in the FMBN since 2008. The department was responsible for developing and issuing the first ever FMBN mortgage-backed Bond which raised N26 billion to refinance the acquisition of non-essential federal government houses in the FCT.
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