Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa has charged the newly appointed Executive Management Team of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to exceed the achievements he recorded during his time as Managing Director, to deliver more decent and affordable houses to Nigerians.
The Minister gave the charge during a meeting with the new Management Teams of the FMBN and Federal Housing Authority (FHA) at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday, February 22, 2024.
The meeting was convened on the heels of the recent change of leadership in the housing agencies under the Ministry, namely FMBN and FHA. President Tinubu had, on February 15, approved the appointment of Mr. Shehu Usman Osidi as Managing Director/Chief Executive of the FMBN, Mr. Ibidapo Odojukan as Executive Director, Finance & Corporate Services; Mr. Muhammad Sani Abdu as the Executive Director, Loans and Mortgage Services; and Mrs. Chinenye Chinedu Anosike as Executive Director, Business Development and Portfolio Management.
Acknowledging the criticality of the FMBN to the actualisation of the Renewed Hope Vision for Housing, the Minister urged the Team to approach their work with the urgency required, so as to boost the economy, create jobs, contribute to the GDP, and bolster productivity.
He urged the Team towards performance, stating that “You will be seeing a lot of pressure from me. This is because I expect you to do ten times better than I did.”
He called on the Bank to be strategically positioned to deliver. “What this means is that FMBN must transform. FMBN must innovate. And FMBN must lead a new era of massive housing development and delivery, even in these difficult times of high construction costs and lower incomes. This requires a radically new mindset, thinking out of the box and identifying the opportunities that these challenges present,” he said.
While recognizing some fundamental challenges the Bank is facing at the moment, Arc. Dangiwa pledged his full support and guidance in navigating through the challenges, and outlined some of the steps already being taken to clear the path for the Bank’s successful operations.
Dangiwa, who tagged the new Management Teams of the two agencies as “Renewed Hope Executive Management Teams of Federal Housing Agencies”, emphasized that they must fashion out ways to deliver on the key deliverables of the housing sector set by the President.
“If you work hard and deliver, you will stay. If you don’t work hard and fail to deliver, you will leave before your term. I believe that is a strong message that Mr President has already passed across to all appointees,” he stressed.
Responding on behalf of the Executive Management of the FMBN, the Chief Executive, Mr. Osidi, appreciated the President and the Minister for counting them worthy of serving the nation as the Executive Management of FMBN. He pledged their commitment to uphold the confidence bestowed on them by President Tinubu, through the appointments.
He reassured the Honourable Minister that they understand that their job is cut out for them and promised to work with his Team to take the FMBN to greater heights, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda for the housing sector.
While reiterating his commitment to an open, transparent and accountable administration, he appealed to the Minister not to grow weary of the Bank’s constant knocks on his door for guidance and support.
