The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Housing Authority, Oyetunde Ojo, says the agency cleared a debt burden of more than N12bn within three months of the current management’s assumption of office and has since remitted N3bn into the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Ojo disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a press conference shortly after receiving an Award of Excellence from the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria.

According to him, the authority inherited severe financial challenges, including an outstanding debt backed by a Supreme Court judgment, making it difficult to meet basic obligations such as salary payments.

“So when I was appointed, and we got here, we met over 12 billion naira deficit. We could not pay salaries.

“And the deficit was backed by a Supreme Court judgment. So there’s no way to run to,” he said.

The FHA boss said the management resolved from the outset not to rely on government funding to revive the agency.

“The first thing we told them, and I personally stood my ground that I would not take one naira from the Federal Government.

“And thank God also for the executive directors believing in the general managers and the team. What did we first do? We realised the staff must be well taken care of.

“We decided to say there will be no department that would not function,” he said.

Ojo attributed the agency’s financial turnaround to the digitalisation of its operations, particularly its property records, saying the move significantly improved revenue generation.

“Over a year ago, it used to be the analogue style. I said there’s wastage of revenue. We have to digitalise all our property files, both land and housing, and these are property files, as they are today in our custody, worth over N10tn. We collect ground rents. We collect building approvals.

“We started digitalisation. We were met with resistance.

“I knew I had to put in extra effort, and we all had to come together. And that’s why I thank the staff, the executive directors and the general managers. In less than three months, we started seeing revenue.

“Gradually, we realised we were even running on a surplus, even though some changes had to take place,” Ojo said.

He added that the management also prioritised staff welfare, promotions and capacity building.

“I told my executive directors there must be a good working environment. We cleared the backlog of promotions. We also created four additional departmental offices.

“We met people who had remained stagnant. You have too many people and little office space.

“The investments over the years had not been properly harnessed and managed. So within three months, we cleared the deficit of over N12bn.

“We also decided to focus on training.

“Before the new management came in, staff in the building construction sector had not benefited from either local or foreign training for over 15 years. We said no.

“Not only will we continue local training, we must also begin foreign training.

“We are happy that staff are now benefiting from both local and international training,” he said.

Ojo further said the authority had become a net contributor to government revenue.

“For the first time, as of July, we have contributed N3bn into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Once you pay us, 40 per cent automatically goes to the Federal Government.

“So for an agency that was almost moribund in 2014, this is a major turnaround.

“By December, we expect to have contributed almost N6bn into the government’s coffers,” he said.

The FHA chief also announced plans to commission about 400 housing units in Bwari, Abuja, before the end of the year without financial support from the Federal Government.

“We are commissioning close to 400 housing units in December in Bwari, about two minutes from the Nigerian Law School, and the project is not funded by the Federal Government. We are selling those houses at affordable rates to Nigerians.

“We are also set to begin similar projects in other states without taking one naira from the Federal Government,” he said.

Speaking on the anti-corruption award, Ojo said the recognition reflected the collective efforts of the authority’s workforce in promoting transparency and accountability.

“I am happy about the anti-corruption drive.

“For me, this recognition from the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria is not merely a personal accolade but an affirmation of our collective commitment and the result of the hard work and integrity of many within our organisation.

“We have seen a measurable reduction in incidents and allegations involving anti-corruption agencies within the authority, and that encouraging trend reflects deliberate policy choices, systematic reforms and a cultural change. We would not have achieved this progress without the dedication of staff across all departments,” he said.

He said the authority’s anti-corruption reforms were anchored on digitalisation, transparent procurement and streamlined approval processes.

“Getting to this point has not been easy. Our first step was to insist on digitalising our operations. Through this, we were able to tackle issues such as double allocation and various forms of forgery.

“We also strengthened procurement transparency by adopting strict open tendering processes through digital documentation. We streamlined approvals by establishing a one-stop shop where approval processes are carried out simultaneously to reduce delays and improve compliance,” he said.