By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded the leadership of minister of Work and Housing Babatunde Fashola, on the tremendous growth and achievements in shelter Afrique company than he met in 2016.
He made the recommendation at the 42nd Annual General Meeting( AGM) symposium of Shelter Afrique on Monday, in Abuja.
Buhari represented by Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said the investment in Shelter Afrique is one of the important investment the federal government has made.
He said that decision of Shelter Afrique to float a N46 billion bond in Nigeria capital market, is important catalytic investment for market and the building industry.
Today, records show there is an attestation to the comparability of investments and achievements in the sector. I commend the leadership played by Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, co-host of this meeting, in driving the mandate of the Presidency.”
”In our capacity as a Frontline shareholder and shareholder, Nigeria looks for a more prosperous future for shelter.Afrique. Now is the time to step over current global financial constraints, corporate management set-backs and thereby repositioning this company into a formidable agent of change for the built environment of African nations as you proceed with this meeting.”
Also speaking, the minister of works and housing Babatunde Fashola said, “Today, I feel very proud to say that Shelter Afrique is a much stronger company, a better version of what I inherited in 2016.
“By the collective action of our member states and development partners, we’ve surmounted very difficult times, some of which threatened the existence of the company at one time, that we were tempted to go back to the African Union and tell them to wind down this company.
“Between the 2016 AGM which was the 35th and this year’s AGM which is the 42nd, Nigeria has made contributions of about US$5.9 in 2017, US$9.392 in 2020, US$7,161 in 22, making a total sum of US$22,503,144.
This has brought Nigeria’s shareholding in the company to 16.84 per cent, now valued at US_30,784,961.
“For a company that was struggling for funding in 2016, this was a much needed investment of life saving character. And Nigeria was not alone on this, other members responded to the contribution, but Nigeria provided some leadership.”
The Minister of National Housing & Social Amenities, Republic of Zimbawbwe , Honourable Daniel Garwe , commended the effort of the Nigerian Government for creating the enabling environment for the AGM.
Managing Director and Chief Executive officer,Shelter Afrique, Thierno-Habib Hann, said the symposium demonstrates shelter Afrique’s commitment to improve in housing and built environment practices in the business.
“ The core activities will include advocacy, research and development, partnerships and capacity building”.
Also, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Shelter Afrique, Dr. Chil Akporji said:”With multiple housing project funded and commissioned across the continent, we continued to deliver on our mandate for better, affordable housing for Africans”.
Akporji said”We are grateful for the continued financial backing we get from all nations that share our missions. We wish to reaffirm our commitment to the vision of decent and affordable housing in Africa”.
She emphasized that we are also exploring practical ways to improve on the housing markets across our members countries.
Meanwhile, the shareholding in the Pan-African institution supporting real estate, is 15.8 per cent, valued at $30.7 million.
The theme for the AGM “Political Economy In The Built Environment”.
