Inflation to push AMCON’s debt to N7trn by 2024

At its current pace, the nation’s rate of inflation could see the over N4 trillion that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) owes the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increasing to N7 trillion by 2024, the corporation has said.

Speaking at the annual seminar for Justices of the Courts of Appeal in Abuja at the weekend, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru, said that the corporation has a lot of cases in different courts with its obligors, adding that the failure of the debtors to repay the amount, which is in excess of N5 trillion, would have negative effect on the economy.

Thus, according to him, there is a dire need for all sister agencies of the Federal Government to join forces to ensure that the economic saboteurs who tried to cripple the banking sector before AMCON was established, are compelled to repay the huge debt that is weighing down the Nigerian economy.

He commended the judiciary for sustaining the AMCON Task Force in the four divisions of the Court of Appeal to ensure a fast track of the corporation’s appeals. The AMCON CEO said no one can over-emphasise the important role the judiciary plays in national development, noting that the judiciary remains vital to the success of AMCON.

Also speaking at the event, the President of Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem and the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Rosaline Bosimo (rtd), called on the Nigerian judiciary to realise the need for speed in dispensing cases involving AMCON and its recalcitrant obligors that come before the courts.

The duo, however, maintained that justice must be dispensed within the ambit of the law. Specifically, Justice Bozimo, who threw more light on the expectations of the judiciary, said: “The role of the judiciary in the execution of AMCON mandate cannot be over-emphasised.

This is understandable considering that the distinguished bench is indispensable to the realisation of the enormous powers conferred on the Corporation by the AMCON Act. “It is through these interactions that the judiciary will be sensitised on the complex role AMCON plays at ensuring the sustenance of the financial system stability in Nigeria.

The level of financial stability currently 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.”

In her own address, Justice Dongban-Mensem also recalled that the 2007- 2009 global financial crisis had severe impact on the economies of many countries, including developing economies like Nigeria’s, which was why AMCON was set up.

She said: “Although Nigerian banks were restructured prior to the financial crisis through consolidation, the restructuring did not shield Nigerian banks from the effects of the crises. In fact, the crisis further exposed other lapses in the system that needed to be addressed in order to prevent total collapse.

The Nigerian government responded by establishing AMCON to help in stimulating recovery of the Nigerian banking system through buying non-performing assets of troubled banks.”