Housing finance must go beyond mobilising and managing funds to ensuring that Nigerians are able to convert those resources into actual homeownership, the Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Shehu Usman Osidi has said.
Speaking at the 31st Annual National Conference of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, Osidi said sound financial management and accountability were particularly important to FMBN because the bank mobilises and deploys financial resources to support access to affordable housing.
According to him, the effectiveness of housing finance should ultimately be measured by the development outcomes it produces, including the ability of Nigerians to own homes.
“Housing finance is not simply about money; it is about how money is mobilised, managed, protected and deployed to produce tangible social and economic outcomes,” he said.
He said accountants had an important role to play in ensuring that funds deployed through institutions such as FMBN were properly managed and translated into measurable development outcomes.
Osidi also highlighted the existing relationship between FMBN and ANAN, noting that many members of the bank’s staff belong to the professional body and contribute their expertise in areas including financial management, internal controls, risk management, project evaluation and institutional decision-making.
He was speaking at the conference, which brought together government officials, accountants, policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders to discuss the role of the accounting profession in governance, reforms and national development.
The conference was held under the theme, “Redefining the Accountant’s Role in Governance, Reform and National Development.”