Five years after the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) launched the Asset Management Partners (AMPs) scheme, the Managing Director/CEO of AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru has described the initiative as a major tool in the recovery efforts of the corporation and key to its success.
Kuru spoke in Lagos, at a 2-day training for Asset Management Partners (AMPs) of AMCON.
The AMPs scheme of the government agency currently has about 6,000 Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) at different stages of resolution and about 3,000 matters at various Courts in the country.
Through the AMPs, AMCON said it is essential each of the cases are properly captured as they progress in the Courts.
AMCON is chasing to recover over N5 trillion from obligors that have remained unwilling to repay their debt.
Of this humongous figure, the government agency had informed Nigerians that only 350 obligors alone account for N3.6 trillion, which is over 82 per cent of the outstanding exposure, which if recovered would be enough for the federal government to actualise a good number of projects such as roads, railways, electricity generation and distribution, hospitals, and the like across the country.
The AMCON boss noted in a statement that with all the facts and its negative effect to the economy of Nigeria, the AMP concept, which is playing a pivotal role in the recovery exercise must scale up their efforts because it would not be fair to allow this crop of obligors that have collectively destroyed the commonwealth of Nigerians escape justice, which is why AMCON would continue to interact and cross-fertilise ideas and provide them with the necessary assistance they would require to excel as recovery agents.
Kuru, who was represented at the event by Mr. Aliyu Kalgo, in his keynote address at the beginning of the training session stated that since the inception of the AMP scheme, AMCON has made significant milestones even though the application of the concept and achievement have not mitigated some key challenges. He said it is for that reason that AMCON has and will continue to engage with different stakeholders especially the AMPs to ensure that they understand the AMCON Act as amended
He said, “As we are aware, the AMCON Act was amended by the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
“This amendment further empowered in the corporation special debt recovery powers and other prerogatives to aid its recovery of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) from recalcitrant debtors that are hiding under different tactics to delay repayment of their debt obligation.”
