The Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) has detailed a massive 1 trillion Naira private-sector-led intervention aimed at restructuring Nigeria’s mortgage landscape and stimulating the broader economy.
Speaking at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) 2025 Annual General Meeting in Abuja, Sani Yakubu, Executive Director at MOFI, revealed that 75 billion Naira has already been deployed into the mortgage sector following the successful raising of an initial 250 billion Naira tranche.
Addressing the “Life or Death” Supply Gap
Yakubu highlighted that the Nigerian housing market faces a dual crisis of demand and supply. To solve the supply-side bottleneck, the program introduces off-take guarantees. This mechanism ensures that developers can access cheaper capital by proving to financiers that buyers are already lined up through pre-approved mortgages.
”The toughest question developers face is: who is going to buy the houses?” Yakubu stated, comparing the security of a pre-ordered product to a speculative one. “By giving an off-take guarantee, we stand ready to provide mortgages to Nigerians to buy those units, making developers more bankable.”
Disrupting the Financial Status Quo
The initiative seeks to replace the prohibitive 5-year repayment cycles typical of the commercial banking sector with 20-year long-term mortgages.
Key economic highlights of the fund include:
Interest Rates: Mortgages are being delivered at a competitive rate of 9.75%, significantly lower than current market averages.
Equity Requirements: Beneficiaries are required to provide only a 10% deposit.
Volume: Since March 2024, the fund has facilitated an average of 10 billion Naira in mortgages every month.
Strengthening the Banking Ecosystem
Rather than bypassing existing financial structures, MOFI is collaborating with 20 financial institutions—comprised of 10 commercial banks and 10 mortgage banks—to deliver the funds.
To illustrate the scale of impact, Yakubu noted that AG Mortgage Bank alone processed 6.7 billion Naira in mortgages since the program’s inception—a figure exceeding the total volume of business the 21-year-old institution had conducted in its entire previous history.
Digital Transparency and Market Access
To foster a nationalized market, MOFI has launched an interactive platform currently featuring nearly 5,000 housing units across Nigeria. The portal allows Nigerians, including those in the diaspora, to view properties and initiate mortgage applications digitally, bridging the geographical gap between developers and potential homeowners.
The 1 trillion Naira program, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is expected to continue in tranches, providing a sustainable roadmap for affordable housing and capital flow within the Nigerian economy.
