Buhari: Nigeria’s Investment in Shelter Afrique One of its Best Decisions

•Country’s total investment hits $30.7m

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that Nigeria’s investment in Shelter Afrique has been one of the best business decisions the country has made in recent times.

Speaking at the 42nd Annual General Meeting and Symposium of the organisation in Abuja, the president who was represented by the Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Zainab Usman, said the floating of a N46 billion bond by the organisationin Nigeria’s capital market was also acting as a catalyst for the building sector.

Shelter Afrique boasts of being the only pan-African finance institution that exclusively supports the development of housing and urban development on the continent.

A partnership of 44 African governments, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa-Re), Shelter Afrique builds strategic partnerships and offers a host of products and related services to support the efficient delivery of affordable housing and commercial real estate.

Buhari stated that as he was winding down, it was important to showcase some of the achievements of the administration, stressing that the challenges of funding the housing sector had continued to cascade over the years before he took over the reins of government.

The president added that it was why the administration confronted the national infrastructure deficit as one of its most important agendas, explaining that today, there’s massive investment in the sector.

“Shelter Afrique is one of the best performing investments that we have. Also, the decision that shelter Afrique took to float N46 billion bond in the Nigerian capital market is a very important catalytic investment, not only for the Nigerian capital market, but also for development of the building industry,” the president stated.

He lauded the theme of the programme, which was: “Political Economy in the Built Industry,” stressing that there was the need to continue to interrogate the interconnectivity and establish a delicate balance between politics, social structure’s, the economy and social development as well as physical development within the country.

While noting that political economies in Africa were in different stages of maturity, Buhari stated that there has to be a proper understanding of the key characteristics and uniqueness of individual states so as to profer tailor-made solutions.

He urged participants to leverage on the outcomes of the 42nd AGM and symposium to set up a stronger launch pad for investment programmes and said the federal government was committed to the vision of Shelter Afrique.

“Now is the time to step over the global financial constraints and corporate management setbacks and thereby reposition this company into a formidable agent of change in the built environment of African nations,” the president pointed out.

In his intervention, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, disclosed that Nigeria has contributed a total of $22,503,144.84 million as a member of Shelter Afrique.

Some of the major contributions, he said, were $9,392,135.66 in 2017 and $7,151,830.91 in 2020.

 Fashola said between the 2016 AGM which was the 35th and this year’s AGM, which was the 42nd, Nigeria’s shareholding in the company has risen to 15.80 per cent, valued at $30,724,961.00

“For a company that was struggling for funding in 2016, this was a much-needed injection of life-restoring capital and I must say that other member states have responded in kind.

“Beyond financial capital, Nigeria has also contributed the most important capital – The human capital—by offering Mr. Femi Adewole, to provide interim leadership for the company at perhaps its most turbulent period,” he added.

Stressing that, “the dark clouds are gone, and a bright new future of renewed hope lies ahead,” the minister stated that on the domestic front, there had been an increasing private sector participation in the delivery of an assortment of housing types for low- and high-income demand.

“These contributions to increasing housing supply are complemented by the federal government with initiatives such as the National Housing Programme that has delivered houses across 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, complemented by the Federal Housing Estates across our six geo-political zones, and the Federal Mortgage Bank, ministerial housing scheme and co-operative housing initiatives across the 36 states of our country,” he noted.

The chairperson of the board of Shelter Afrique, Dr. Patience Chii Akporji said the global economy’s growth rate was projected to slow down to 3.2 per cent from the six per cent recorded in 2021, the weakest growth profile since 2001, aside from the 2020 global financial crisis.

She added that the global inflation forecast rose to 8.8 per cent from 4.7 per cent the previous year.

“Indeed, the cost of living crisis, the tightening of financial conditions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, among other events, weighed heavily on the outlook.

“African economies were also impacted by these developments. The African Economic Outlook report estimated the average growth of Africa’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) to have slowed to 3.4 per cent from 4.8 per cent in 2021” she explained.