The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria established by the Federal Government in 2010 to buy bad debts from banks and ensure stability in the financial sector has said that it owes the Central Bank of Nigeria more than N4tn.
AMCON said in a statement on Sunday that at the current rate of inflation, the debt owed to the CBN could rise to almost N7tn by 2024. It therefore stressed that there is dire need for all sister agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria to join forces to ensure that the economic saboteurs who intend to ripple the banking sector before AMCON was set up are compelled to repay the humongous debt that is weighing down the Nigeria economy.
While speaking at the two-day Annual Seminar for Justices of the Courts of Appeal jointly organized by the National Judicial Institute and Legal Academy in Abuja over the weekend, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru said that the corporation had many legal issues in different courts with its obligors. He added that non-collection of the debts, which is currently in excess of N5tn, would have negative effect on the national resources.
Kuru was however appreciative of the Nigeria Judiciary for sustaining the AMCON Task Force in the four divisions of the Court of Appeal to fast-track AMCON appeals.
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The President of Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem and the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice R.P.I. Bosimo (retd.) also called on the Judiciary to realize the need for speed in dispensing cases involving the AMCON and its recalcitrant obligors.
Both of them maintained that justice must be dispensed within the ambit of the law. However, Justice Bosimo was quoted as saying, “The role of the judiciary in the execution of AMCON mandate cannot be overemphasized. This is understandable considering that the distinguished bench is indispensable to the realization of the enormous powers conferred on the corporation by the AMCON Act.
“The level of financial stability enjoyed in the country is solely attributable to the role played by AMCON in offloading toxic portfolios from the balance sheets of banks, thus enabling the banks to perform their intermediating role in the macro-economy.”
