APDC MD Explains How FCT Residents Can Access Homes Through Mortgages

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Acting Managing Director of Abuja Property Development Company (APDC) Akeem Aderogba has shed light on how residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), particularly civil servants and low- and middle-income earners, can benefit from mortgage facilities to acquire homes without paying the full cost upfront.

He made the clarification Wednesday at the 20th anniversary symposium of APDC held in Abuja

Aderogba said the mortgage arrangement allowed prospective homeowners to pay an initial deposit of between 10 and 20 per cent of the cost of a house, while the outstanding balance is financed through mortgage institutions, making homeownership more accessible to residents.

Speaking on APDC’s efforts to address the housing deficit in the FCT, he said the initiative was designed to ease the financial burden on prospective homeowners who might not have the resources to pay for a house in a single transaction.

He explained that through mortgage financing, beneficiaries could secure their homes after paying the required deposit, with the balance spread over an agreed repayment period.

“For us, we take these issues into consideration before arriving at the prices of our houses. You do not need to look for all the money before you can move in. You can deposit maybe 10 to 20 per cent, and the balance will be financed by the mortgage institutions,” he said.

He disclosed that APDC had also collaborated with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria through the National Housing Fund (NHF) to provide civil servants with access to affordable housing.

According to him, the arrangement, alongside support from the Federal Government Housing Board, enables eligible civil servants to access homes by facilitating payment of the outstanding balance to APDC.

He said the initiative was particularly beneficial to civil servants, who could otherwise find it difficult to raise the full cost of acquiring a house amid rising construction costs and inflation.

The acting MD noted that APDC had continued to expand its housing developments to help bridge the housing deficit in the FCT, adding that its estates were designed to serve different categories of residents, including low- and middle-income earners.

He disclosed that the organisation’s estates covered about 50 hectares of land, with more than 800 families moving into the development, while additional projects were expected to accommodate hundreds of other households.

Among the projects, he said, were Abuja APDC Homes in Karsana, expected to accommodate at least 200 families, and another development at APDC Homes, Ido Gwari, in Life Camp, projected to provide housing for at least 150 households.

He, however, identified the rising cost of building materials and infrastructure as major challenges affecting housing affordability and the timely completion of some developments.

He explained that the increasing prices of cement, sand and other construction materials, alongside the rising cost of infrastructure, had significantly increased the cost of housing development.

He urged the government to support housing developers by providing land and essential infrastructure, noting that infrastructure accounts for between 30 and 40 per cent of the total cost of housing development.

According to him, government intervention in infrastructure provision would reduce development costs and enable developers to offer homes at more affordable prices, particularly to civil servants and other residents of the FCT.

In her remarks the Group Managing Director Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL) Amb. Maureen Tamuno, said APDC had operated for the past two decades as a subsidiary of AICL.

She said that APDC’s role of expanding housing opportunities remains critical because a house is the most important investment of a lifetime for ordinary citizens and households.