No buyers for N182bn assets, AMCON cries out

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on Thursday said it was yet to find buyers for the N182 billion assets obtained by the corporation from debt resolution.

Managing Director of AMCON, Ahmed Kuru, made this disclosure while speaking in Lagos at a two-day retreat on AMCON Act Amendment Bill, attended by members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.

Kuru said the corporation’s ability to successfully divest these assets at competitive market price was severely hampered by several factors including valuation methodology, unperfected title documents, state of the economy and purchasing power.

“The third challenge is the uncooperative attitudes of select obligors who are either unwilling and/or unable to settle their indebtedness. Such debtors prefer to resort to all manner of diversionary tactics as opposed to dealing with the problem of their indebtedness. It sees most of them are buying time, to where we do not know,” he added.

The AMCON boss said the N4.8 trillion bad loans owed to the corporation represent 55 per cent of the 2018 budget, noting that given the current demands on the Federal Government, it is doubtful that it can afford to expense AMCON’s debt in the short term.

Kuru reminded the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions that the ramifications for failure by AMCON to recover its debt go beyond economic cost.

“It was for that reason, AMCON, after seven years of negotiating with the obligors with no commensurate recovery result, has decided to change its strategy, which now pays strict attention to enforcements as a way of compelling especially the recalcitrant obligors to come and pay up their debts,” he said.

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To achieve this however, Kuru said the corporation will be heavily dependent on the legislature, most especially members of the committee to facilitate the amendment of the AMCON Act since most obligors of AMCON that are politically exposed and business heavyweights now employ different antics in law to tie the Corporation up in courts.

On his part, Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, said Nigeria could be made great again, if the legislature empowers AMCON to go after recalcitrant obligors.

According to him, that is the only way AMCON could achieve the mandate for which it was set up in 2010.

He said as part of the oversight function of the Senate, it had decided that AMCON must be given all the support required to perform as expected by all Nigerians.

He urged the management of the corporation to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to propose that the President issue an Executive Order on seizure of assets of persons who are indebted to AMCON.

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