Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa has been elected as Chairperson of the 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) Bureau of Shelter Afrique, Africa’s largest housing finance institution.
In an online meeting with officials of the institution on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, the institution’s Board Chairperson, Dr Chii Akporji, conveyed the news to the Minister.
Dangiwa assumes the role as Nigeria’s representative and continues in the stead of former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola who emerged winner of the AGM elections in May 2023 and won Nigeria the Chairmanship seat for a one-year term.
As the new AGM Bureau Chairperson, Dangiwa is expected to chair the 2023 AGM Bureau meeting scheduled for October 5 in Algiers. He is also expected to kickstart the 2024 edition coming up in Kigali, where he would then hand it over to the First Vice Chairman.
Dr Akporji also briefed the Minister on Shelter Afrique’s operations in Nigeria, such as the recent issuance of the local currency bond where the organization raised $100 million in a bid to enhance the housing ecosystem in the country, and as part of a medium-term loan programme to the tune of $250 million.
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“We also want to solicit the Honourable Minister’s kind intervention on the government of Nigeria to meet up with its outstanding capital subscription of $21 million… Even though it was approved during the previous administration, the funds were not released before the tenure ended”, she said.
The Shelter Afrique team also intimated the Minister on the Statutes Revision Process, which seeks to rework the documentation establishing Shelter Afrique since its inception in 1982.
The new Statutes are known as the agreement for the Shelter Afrique Development Plan, and is one of the reasons for the extraordinary Annual General Meeting coming up in October.
“On this, we would like to seek the Honourable Minister’s firm support for the approval of the agreement document, which is necessary for consolidating the gains made so far in placing Shelter Afrique on a firm growth trajectory”, she added.
Responding, Dangiwa thanked Shelter Afrique for the honour bestowed on him and pledged to ensure continued firm collaboration between Nigeria and the institution.
He further commended the institution for the restructuring being undertaken to transform it from its current state into the Shelter Afrique Development Bank.
“It is my belief that this restructuring will put the institution on the proper pedestal to deliver on its mandate of improving the housing ecosystem across Africa. Despite being the second-largest contributor, Nigeria has not really benefitted from Shelter Afrique, and I think this is the case with many other contributing nations as well. I believe this is the reason for this restructuring, and I’m sure it will help to enhance the bank’s capacity and improve its benefits to member nations,” Dangiwa said.
The Minister added that the institution’s restructuring will also lead to increased financial capacity and expanded mandate, improved risk management, enhanced sustainability, and increased access and opportunities in the capital market.
He stated that the vision of the institution is in line with the vision of the Tinubu-led administration, which is to grow the economy and improve the welfare of Nigerians.
Shelter Afrique is the only pan-African finance institution that exclusively supports the development of housing and urban development in Africa. The Institution has 44 member countries and two African Finance Multinational Institutions as stakeholders. Rwanda will be taking over from Nigeria as chair of the AGM scheduled for Kigali in 2024 and Algeria in 2025.
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