AMCON To Name And Shame Prominent Nigerians Owing N5 Trillion Debt

By Rufus Ike 

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has revealed plans to release a TV documentary on influential Nigerians as well as top public officials who owe a larger portion of the N5 trillion debt.

Mr. Ahmed Kuru, the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer disclosed this at the July edition of the breakfast meeting of Nigerian — American Chamber of Commerce where he was a guest speaker.

Kuru said the commission was working hand in hand with other anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), and a host of others, to produce a television documentary on the unrepentant debtors in a permanent format.

He said the plan would make known to future generations people including lawmakers, ministers, university pro-chancellors as well as influential Nigerians who held the country in a debt hostage.

In his words “Sadly, these are the calibre of people we respect in Nigeria but these people are not role models. How can you be a role model when you cannot honour a simple obligation? That is why I have been consistent in the call for the return of the failed bank act.

“All economies all over the world depend on financial infrastructure for growth. If we allow or encourage the destruction of the basis of our financial structure, then the economy would not grow.

“These are men and women who go to banks, borrow monies with no intention to pay and in the process bring down banking institutions. It takes a lot for a bank to fail. AMCON just rescued Skye Bank with an investment of nearly N1trillion. In a decent society, those who are responsible are supposed to be held accountable.”

AMCON, according to the boss, are concerned as to how only 350 Nigerians owe 80% of the N5 trillion debt. Alongside this, he stated clearly that debt can not be cleared off because of its use and also revealed how the corporation bailed Skye Bank with an investment of N1 trillion due to high non-performing loans.

“We are talking about recovering over N5 trillion debt, which sits with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and we know that the Federal Government through the CBN cannot afford to write the debt off so we just have to recover it.

“With such a huge recovery, the country can do a lot in the areas of infrastructure development in energy, rail line, health, road construction, and a whole lot more. To enable you to understand the magnitude of what we are talking about, only 350 individuals account for 80% of the debt amounting to N4.6 trillion.

“At AMCON, we have no power to arrest these ‘powerful’ people as we depend largely on judicial processes to recover and we all know the slow pace of judicial processes.

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