The House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Habitat has announced plans to investigate the Mortgage and Real Estate Investment Fund, MREIF, a housing finance initiative established under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, MOFI.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, said the probe would commence on Tuesday, June 2.
According to Jibrin, the investigation is aimed at examining the administration and performance of the fund.
“The Committee is embarking on this exercise to ensure that the administration and performance of MREIF meets the expectations of the President,” he said.
The lawmaker stated that the committee would review the operations of the fund and consider petitions submitted against it.
“The Committee will take a comprehensive look at the activities and performance of the MREIF as well as address multiple petitions,” he added.
Jibrin also disclosed that the Managing Director of the fund and members of its management team had been directed to appear before the committee.
“To this end, the Managing Director and entire management of MREIF have been summoned to attend the session unfailingly on Tuesday,” he said.
MREIF was established under MOFI as part of the Federal Government’s housing finance programme. The fund was designed to attract long-term investments from public and private sector institutions, including pension fund administrators, banks and development finance institutions, for housing development and mortgage financing.
Reports indicate that the fund’s first major issuance was valued at about N250 billion, with projections that it could expand to N500 billion and potentially N1 trillion through additional capital mobilisation.
The House Committee is expected to examine the structure of the fund, its deployment mechanisms, project implementation and management processes, as well as issues relating to transparency and its impact on housing delivery.
