Abuja: The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma, has assured Nigerians that no critical records or customer data were lost in the fire incident at the headquarters of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Darma gave the assurance on Tuesday during an inspection of the affected section of the bank’s headquarters in Abuja after being briefed by the bank’s management and technical team. He disclosed that the fire, which occurred on Saturday, was contained within a section of the second floor of the building. Preliminary findings indicated that the incident was most likely caused by an electrical fault.
The minister commended the FMBN’s successful digital transformation, noting that the bank’s cloud-based data backup system protected all critical records. He added that it ensured uninterrupted access to customer information and operational documents despite the fire. Darma expressed confidence in the bank’s management, who demonstrated the accessibility of digitized documents stored on the cloud.
Darma stated that the FMBN had digitized their entire system, and it was primarily the paperwork that the fire consumed. He further assured Nigerians that the bank remained fully operational. Reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding access to affordable housing, the minister said ongoing reforms at the FMBN would strengthen mortgage delivery and support the achievement of President Bola Tinubu’s housing agenda.
He assured Nigerians that the 100,000 housing units promised by the President within four years would be delivered. Darma also disclosed that the federal government had directed the FMBN to strengthen its internal processes and institutional framework as part of ongoing policy reforms aimed at improving mortgage accessibility and operational efficiency. As part of the bank’s ongoing policy reforms, the FMBN had been directed to review its internal arrangements and improve mortgage access, with a target of delivering about 2,000 mortgages annually.