By Nse Anthony-Uko,
ABUJA, (Sundiata Post) – The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr Ahmed Kuru has disclosed that the corporation has recovered over N681.5billion in the last six years in the form of cash, properties and shares.
He also confirmed that most of these recoveries were made possible through court sanctioned settlements or outright judgment, adding that AMCON presently has at least N1.7trillion worth of assets under litigation across the federation, which he also echoed seriously underscored the need for an effective resolution mechanism through the courts.
Kuru, on Monday, at the an interaction conference of Federal High Court Judges, at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja, said AMCON recognised that the judiciary are the greatest and most important stakeholder in the pursuit of its statutory mandate, which was why AMCON would continue to seek the support, association and collaboration of the judiciary all through its lifespan.
According to him, “We understand the crucial role of the judiciary, which 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 of our cases based on a thorough understanding of the unique regime under which AMCON was established in 2010,”Kuru affirmed.
At the event, The Administrator of the NJI, Hon. Justice R.P.I Bozimo, reiterated the importance of the judiciary and all stakeholders in the financial industry to support the activities of AMCON and its debt recovery efforts because of the huge positive impact of that to the Nation’s economy and its ability to correct the economic flaws of the past, which led to the establishment of AMCON.
Justice Bozimo, said the call had become necessary because of the critical but difficult assignment of AMCON to recover huge debts as mandated by its establishment Act. The theme of the conference is “The AMCON Regime: A Paradigm Shift in Debt Recovery.”
She informed that it was based on the importance of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, attached to AMCON as an integral component of the financial safety net system, that made him to graciously grant approval of the interaction.
To this end therefore, Justice Bozime said acknowledging Nigeria’s critical economic status; acquiring the intellectual competence of promoting the financial system stability and ring fencing the integrity of the macro-economy from fragmentation, should be encouraged and supported especially by our Justices and Honorable Justices of the Appellate courts.
Again she said, “My Lords, the relevant mechanisms and approaches inherent in complementing AMCON judicial and judiciously to accomplish its primary mandate in the area of liquidity support, assumption of troubled loans and compliments to businesses, should be encouraged and supported by all stakeholders. Hence, the roles of judicial officers in aiding AMCON to achieve its statutory objective are very key.”
To drive home the point, the NJI boss said the institute in the future would collaborate with AMCON to ensure that all its judicial officers are exposed to the novel prescriptions in the AMCON Act. She argued that this development was understandable considering that judges and justices must be effectively and constantly informed to enable them accomplish their tasks with desired precision, efficacy, efficiency and competence.
Justice Bozimo concluded by saying that she was optimistic that the interactive conference will “…repose your lordships with the mechanisms, skills and perspectives indispensable to adjudicating over AMCON cases in the future.”
