The Federal Government has inaugurated an Inter-Agency Task Force in its bid to recover over N5 Trillion outstanding debts owed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). The task force, chaired by the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, was constituted to resolve the challenges in recovering the debts.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who inaugurated the committee on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, challenged the team to change the current ‘difficult process’ where debtors continue to default in their payment obligations. About 67 per cent of the outstanding N5tn debt is said to be owed by just 20 individuals/entities.
Osinbajo, who voiced confidence in the expertise of the team to carry out the task ahead, said “one of the terms of reference is for the committee to prepare a report, giving us a sense of what the timelines would be.”. “I congratulate you on the very onerous task that has been set, to render this service. I know that, given the kind of individuals here, you will definitely turn this whole narrative around.
So, I wish you all very well,” he said in a statement issued yesterday by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President. The chairman of the inter-agency committee, who thanked the vice president for the confidence reposed in them, said the team would do its best to recover most of the debts.
The committee, among other related tasks, is expected to review the status of debts owed to AMCON, deliberate on practical, legal and other strategies for the recovery of the outstanding debts, and prepare a report, which will include a debt recovery work plan with specific timelines for completion. The committee is also expected to consider other options, including taking enforcement measures “in actually recovering the debts, following the challenges encountered from the debt-recovery processes and the very limited results so far.”
Members of the committee include heads and representatives of agencies such as AMCON, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the ICPC, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
