By Matthew Denis, Abuja
The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola has officially inaugurated the newly appointed members of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) Board and Executive Management Team on Thursday.
The event took place yesterday, Thursday at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Headquarters, Mabushi, Abuja.
The Minister tasked the new FMBN Board and Executive Management Team to work within the conceptual framework of FMBN as a specialised banking institution that was established to deliver on a specialised job of driving affordable housing for Nigerians nationwide.
He advised them to confront all inherited pre-2015 liabilities resulting from the over-extension of FMBN’s mandate, bring to a lawful end ventures which FMBN had entered into that are not supported by law, complete reform initiatives that have started including the computerisation of the Bank and work together harmoniously as a team to deliver on FMBN’s mandate.
“Your primary mandate is to reposition FMBN as a pre-eminent mortgage Bank. This is why you will see that the majority of the Board members are either bankers by training or bankers by work experience spanning several decades. This is perhaps the largest collection of bankers on the FMBN that I can remember in a long time.”
He advised the Board and Management to promptly engage with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and ensure FMBN’s compliance with regulatory stipulations for operating as a Bank. He mandated them to work speedily to complete the over 2,000 housing units at different levels of completion under the Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme.
Furthermore, the minister expressed appreciation to the immediate Past Board and Executive Management Team for their service saying their efforts cannot be forgotten.
The new FMBN Managing Director/Chief Executive, Madu Hamman on behalf of the newly inaugurated Board members and Executive Management Team appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for the privilege and opportunity to serve the nation.
He expressed his profound gratitude to the Minister of Works and Housing for finding them worthy to serve the country in those capacities and promised that the team will work harmoniously within the framework of the Acts establishing the FMBN to reposition the Bank to deliver on his mandate.
“We are humbled and excited to be chosen to undertake this onerous responsibility. We would maintain a high level of corporate governance in line with best practices while delivering enhanced performance towards repositioning the Bank to play its primary role as the apex Mortgage Bank in Nigeria. We would leverage all our competencies to ensure that we restore FMBN on the path of growth and increased impact in line with its mandate and expectations of the government.”
He further added that they would count on the support of the Hon. Minister to achieve all the desired results at the Bank.
The Board Chairman, Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi assured the Minister that the Board is clear on the impact and strategic importance of housing and will work hard to deliver on the mandate bestowed on them and meet government expectations.