The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has recovered over N681.5billion from chronic debtors in the last six years of its operation, its Managing Director, Alhaji Ahmed Kuru, said in Abuja on Monday.
Kuru, who made the disclosure at an interactive session with Judges of the Federal High Court, said the amount was recovered from the debtors in form of cash, properties and shares.
He stated that most of the recoveries were made possible through court-sanctioned settlements or outright judgment.
Kuru revealed that AMCON had at least N1.7trillion worth of assets under litigation across the country, adding that “this underscores the need for an effective resolution mechanism through the courts’’.
The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that AMCON was primarily established to tackle the issue of non-performing loans from the books of banks and to restructure such banks.
It has special powers to ensure that recalcitrant debtors are unable to deploy legal technicalities to slow the pace of legal process.
According to Kuru, the judiciary remains the most important stakeholders in the realisation of the corporation’s mandate.
“We realize that when all other resolution strategies fail, we have to resort to the courts in order to exercise our special enforcement powers.
“We understand the crucial role of the judiciary, that is why we always look forward to opportunities like this where we can share some of our unique experiences towards ensuring that justice is done in all our cases based on a thorough understanding of the unique regime under which AMCON was established,’’ he said.
He reassured that the agency would continue to partner with various arms of government especially the judiciary in furtherance of its mandate.
The Managing Director expressed the hope that all AMCON matters brought before the courts would continue to receive the urgent attention they deserve.
“We hope that there will be more opportunities for collaborations like this in the future,’’ he added.
Kuru said the presentations would focus on the role of AMCON as an intervention agency of the Federal Government in rescuing banks and saving Nigeria’s economy from collapse.
According to him, three topics meant to enrich the understanding of the Judges in appreciating the scope of AMCON’s mandate and its application in real life situations, had been selected for discussion during the interactive session.
The topics are, Receivership under the AMCON Act, scope and application; Role of the Judiciary in Effective and Efficient Recovery of AMCON Debts and Comprehensive Appraisal of the Special Powers of AMCON under the AMCON Act and the AMCON Practice Directions.
In her remarks, the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Mrs Rosaline Bozimo, urged judicial officers to partner with AMCON, to enable it recover bad debts across the country.
She said that such intervention was imperative because “monstrous debtors” had continued to utilize the judicial system and legal technicalities to frustrate the debt recovery efforts of AMCON.
“I believe the fundamental concern that principally underscores AMCON’s efforts to engage My Lords on these Special Powers that constitute a paradigm shift in conventional debt recovery roadmap cannot be overemphasized,’’ she added.
