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.

Mr 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.

He said preliminary findings indicated that the incident was most likely caused by an electrical fault.

Commending the FMBN’s successful digital transformation, the minister noted that the bank’s cloud-based data backup system protected critical records.

He added that it ensured uninterrupted access to customer information and operational documents in spite of the fire.

“I am convinced by the management that nothing is really lost, except the physical structure of the building. I came to the computer room, and they showed me the documents were all digitised and saved on the cloud.

“So it is a matter of accessing them from the cloud, and then you see them, and you can reprint them if you want them in the physical form. That, I have been convinced.

“I took some of the samples of the deeds of assignment and other documentation, and I asked them, ‘Give me this,’ and they gave me, ‘Give me that,’ and they gave it,” he said.

Mr Darma said the FMBN digitised their entire system, so it was the paperwork the fire consumed.

“So that was the sort of relief that I have,” he said.

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.

Mr 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.

He said that 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.

(NAN)