This week’s housingnews personality of the week features two prominent stakeholders shaping the Nigerian housing sector. Ugochukwu Chime leads the estate developers’ body in Nigeria (REDAN), while Kehinde Ogundimu is the managing director at Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).
Get to know them.
UGOCHUKWU CHIME – principal figure in Estate Development in Nigeria
The future of any nation lies in its builders. The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) occupy a very significant position in the present and future of Nigeria. In bridging Nigeria’s housing gap, REDAN are critical stakeholders whose performance will greatly determine the pace of development in the sector.
The body is currently led by Ugochukwu Obiora Chime, a renowned Surveyor, Real Estate Developer, Physical Development Consultant and prominent stakeholder in the housing sector. He is the Housingnews person of the week.
He is also the President of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA).
His various academic pursuits at the University of Nigeria, earned him a first degree in Geography, a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Surveying, Geodesy and Photogrammetry, and another Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Management. He also obtained a Graduate Diploma in Theology from Agape Bible College Enugu. He got registered with the Surveyors Registration Council of Nigeria (SURCON) in 1995, and earned a fellowship of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (FNIS) in 2010.
Ugochukwu Chime is a well-travelled technocrat, which has enabled him undertake the multidimensional roles he is playing in the country’s socio-economic development. He is a notable FMBN consultant in Real Estate Development with many successful developments across the country to his credit. He is well known for his mentorship responsibility and spurring a lot of people to achieve great things.
He had a 15 years working experience with Anambra/Enugu States Government in Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Development (May 1980 – June 1995). He started serving as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of COPEN GROUP OF COMPANIES from June 1995 till date. He served as Chairman, Board of Directors, Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (2003 – 2007). He is also the Chairman, Bethel Microfinance Bank Ltd and sits on the Board of many other companies.
His company – Copen Services Limited was given the first ever Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) certificate of commendation to an Estate developer on 1st December 2011 by the Hon. Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development Ms Amal Pepple CFR. He has made an indelible mark in Real Estate Development, pioneering the 1ST, 2ND, 3RD and 4TH successful FMBN financed estates in the South East to completion – Bethel, Goshen, Jubilee and Elim Estates. He has diversified interest in residential, commercial and industrial real estate in Enugu and Abuja.
Launch of National Real Estate Data Collation and Management Programme (NRE-DCMP)
Under his presidency, The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) launched the National Real Estate Data Collation and Management Programme (NRE-DCMP), which is designed to help tackle housing problems in Nigeria, including housing deficit this week.
NRE-DCMP was initiated by REDAN and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to collate property price index nationwide to solve housing problems in the country.
According to Ugochukwu Chime, the data which was launched in May, collated from national land administrators on pre-construction, construction and post construction activities nationwide would be hosted on the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC)’s website for public usage.
Amongst the retinue of positions has held includes:
In Real Estate Development
• ENUGU STATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Chairman, Board of Directors, Enugu State Housing Development Corporation, at 21 Kingsway Rd, Enugu. (2003 – 2007)
• FMBN CONSULTANT (2005 – 2015) – His company was a foremost Estate Development Loan monitoring and supervising Consultant
• REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA
o South East Zonal Coordinator (2004 – 2009)
o National Deputy President, (2009 – 2012)
o Chairman, Board of Directors REDAN Capital Ltd, (2010 – February 2012)
o Trustee (Member, Board of Trustees of REDAN) February 2012 till date.
o National President, REDAN February 2015 till date
In NIGERIAN INSTITUTION OF SURVEYORS (NIS).
• Chairman, (NIS), Enugu State Branch (1996- 2000). Acquired the land and built the first ever NIS Branch Secretariat in Nigeria.
• Council Representative on NIS Council (2000-2004)
• Trustee of NIS, Enugu State Branch, 2002 till date).
• Council Member representing Benue, Enugu and Anambra States on SURVEYORS REGISTRATION COUNCIL OF NIGERIA (SURCON). (2004 – 2007)
In ENUGU CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY, MINES & AGRICULTURE (ECCIMA).
Council Member/Chairman Allocation (February 2007 – February 2009)
Vice President (February 2009 – February 2011)
2nd Deputy President (February 2011 – February 2013)
1st Deputy President (February 2013 – February 2015)
President of ECCIMA (February 2016 – February 2018)
He is a devout Christian and enjoys playing chess, table tennis, football, reading and swimming.
KEHINDE OGUNDIMU – Managing Director of NMRC
Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu is Managing Director of Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc (NMRC), and has been its Executive Director since November 26, 2015. Mr. Ogundimu is a seasoned professional with over 20 years’ work experience in financial services (secondary mortgage and diversified banking), energy and public accounting.
Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng Honors) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ibadan and obtained an MBA from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is a seasoned professional with over 20 years’ work experience in financial services (secondary mortgage and diversified banking), energy and public accounting.
He started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and subsequently worked in various capacities at Texaco Overseas (now Chevron Nig. Ltd) in Nigeria and in the Washington DC region at Pepco Energy Services, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and finally at Capital One Bank, where he was the Head of Debt, Derivatives and Securitization before joining NMRC.
Mr. Ogundimu is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA), a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. He has attended several executive management programs in leading educational institutions including Harvard Business School and Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Under his tenure as MD, the NMRC is proactively championing the mortgage market information system, for which they even won an award at the 2019 Nigeria Housing Awards.
NMRC has been at the forefront of driving housing market intelligence as a key area of activity and focus, within which it has developed a Mortgage Market Information Portal (MMIP). The NMRC MMIP portal is a decision-making tool that supports the growth of affordable housing and housing finance markets in Nigeria. The NMRC MMIP is currently the repository for the National Real Estate Data Collation Programme making it a primal point of call for industry stakeholders seeking relevant and timely data on Nigeria’s housing sector.
As part of the Company’s attainment in Housing Data, NMRC had earlier in 2016 partnered with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to execute a first of its kind Housing Market survey across six geopolitical zones and involved data gathering, policy evaluation and impact assessment for decision making and investment in the mortgage and housing industry.
Under Ogundimu, NMRC is also collaborating with stakeholders in the passage of foreclosure bills in all the states of the federation and refinancing projects of family homes funds and mortgages of several PMIs.
