Assessment of incoporation of customers' specific affordability needs in the Nigeria National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme

The current study evaluates the extent of incorporation of customers' specific affordability needs in the Nigeria National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme. It ascertains the adequacy of the consideration given to the specific affordability needs of potential beneficiaries of the NHF scheme and determines the adequacy of the consideration given to the inputs from the intended beneficiaries of the NHF scheme. Descriptive and exploratory research designs are adopted for the study. Different offices of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, namely the implementers of the NHF scheme, in Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Ibadan, Enugu, Lagos, as well as the 19 state/district offices in these zones are studied. The population of the study includes 201 management staff and officers in these offices. Considering the size of the population and the nature of the investigation, a census is undertaken. Data for the study are collected through structured questionnaire. The formulated hypotheses are tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA), at 5% level of significance. Results of the hypotheses tests show that; the consideration given to the specific affordability needs of the intended beneficiaries in the NHF affordability criteria is not adequate (Fcal = 73.064, P = 0.000 < 0.05). And, the consideration given to the inputs from the intended beneficiaries of the NHF scheme is not adequate (Fcal = 116.009, P = 0.000 < 0.05). In line with findings of this study, it is concluded that little attention is paid to the specific affordability needs of the target beneficiaries of the NHF scheme. Following the findings and study conclusion, it is proposed that the implementation of the Need-based Housing Affordability Model developed in this study, will aid the successful planning and execution of housing affordability strategies, thus boosting the performance of housing development programs.