Nigeria May Have To Pay N5 Trillion in Bad Debt, says AMCON
— The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has warned that the Federal Government may have to pay back an outstanding N5 trillion, bad debts inclusive if the money is not fully recovered from the individuals and organizations owing.
— AMCON also made it known that it is keento recover the money as soon as possible, and might have to revert its recovery strategy from negotiation to enforcement.
This was made known to the public by Mr. Ahmed Lawan Kuru, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON in Abuja.
According to the Director, the task of recovering the debts should be seen by all Nigerians as a collective problem, irrespective of socio-political, ethnic, and cultural differences.
Mr Ahmed Kuru was duly represented by the Executive Director, Assets, Dr. Eberechukwu Uneze, where he received cadets who were on an excursion from the Accounting Department of the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, led by the Registrar, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Mohammed Jallo.
The cadets who were on a mandatory visit to AMCON as a part of a requirement to visit financial institutions, where they would be privileged to learn both theoretical teachings in the academy alongside practical realities of accounting principles in the actual business world.
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In his speech, Mr Kuru warned against those who think the challenge of recovering the huge debts is only a responsibility of AMCON. He further called upon all good citizens of the country, including security agencies, to support the efforts of AMCON in the recovery pursuit. He made it known that a failure to recover the debts, would invariably mean that the federal government will pay back the taxpayers’ money.
He also mentioned that if the funds can be recovered, it would be used judiciously in providing and improving key infrastructures across the country. He also maintained that AMCON is doing all it can to ensure the debtors paid up.
He also said that AMCON will make sure to change its recovery strategy from negotiation to enforcement.
Aside recovering over N1trillion so far, he said: “Our intervention in the banking sector protected thousands of jobs. Along the line, we have also created thousands of direct and indirect jobs. The creation of the Asset Management Partners (AMPs) scheme for instance, employed close to 9,000 direct and indirect jobs as well.
“With the AMP scheme, AMCON is laying solid foundation for the stability of the financial sector because we are gradually and systemically grooming professionals that will take over the job of AMCON at sunset. Our thinking is that at the end of this assignment as mandated by the law, we would have trained highly experienced and professional agents with the requisite capacity and knowhow to continue to function as asset managers in the country.
“This is because AMCON was not established to stay forever because that will encourage bad behaviour in banks. It also has a moral hazard, which is not good for our economy and the country,” he concluded.
