The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AMCON

  • AMCON takes over Aero Contractors

    AMCON takes over Aero Contractors

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria ( AMCON) has dissolved the board of Aero Contractors and appointed a manager to oversee the affairs of the airline.

    The AMCON has also engaged a reputable accounting firm to undertake a forensic audit of the airline’s accounts over the last five years.

    Investigations reveal that the airline got N14 billion intervention funds in 2010 with additional investment by the AMCON which raised the debt profile of the airline to N20 billion.

    A source said in the last five years, things went bad for the airline because of alleged mismanagement.

     The source further said the takeover was “to ensure the business is sustained in order to ensure credit recovery”.

    He said:”The intervention by the AMCON is based on public interest to ensure there is a viable transport system and continuity without compromising safety standards.”

    A statement issued by SY&T, the public relations firm handling the airline, said: “The takeover of the airline by the AMCON is in furtherance of the statutory responsibility of acquiring eligible bank assets and putting them to economic use in a profitable manner.

    ” An industry based management team will be put in place to provide the highest level of professional competence which would ensure a quick repositioning of the company

    ” The AMCON would like to assure the regulatory authorities, the travelling public and key stakeholders that the airline will continue to operate on the solid foundation of safety and security with excellent customer service. “

    Currently, the AMCON owns 60 per cent of the company with the remaining 40 per cent  held by the Ibru family.

    Aero Contractors is Nigeria’s oldest airline.It commenced business in 1959, initially providing services to oil and gas sector before venturing into fix wing operations in the year 2000.

  • AMCON takes over Aero Contractors

    AMCON takes over Aero Contractors

    • Appoints accounting firm for forensic audit for last five years

     

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has dissolved the board of Aero Contractors and appointed a manager to oversee the affairs of the airline.

    This is just as AMCON has engaged a reputable accounting firm to undertake a forensic audit of the airline’s accounts over the last five years.

    Investigations reveal that the airline got N14 billion intervention fund in 2010 with additional investment by AMCON which has raised the debt profile of the airline to N20 billion.

    A source hinted that in the last five years things went bad in the airline due to alleged mismanagement.

    Shareholders of the airline it was learnt have not been happy with the state of affairs of the airline warranting its takeover by AMCON.

    Sources further hinted that the takeover by AMCON is connected to the need to ensure the business is sustained, in order to ensure continuity and credit recovery.

    The source said:” The intervention by AMCON is based on public interest, to ensure there is a viable transport system, ensure continuity without compromising safety standards, brand heritage and other factors. To select a management team for the airline as soon as possible and ensure that Aero flies in secured environment to protect shareholders values.”

    A statement issued by the public relations firm handling the airline: SY&T explained that the takeover of the airline by AMCON is in furtherance of the statutory responsibility of acquiring Eligible Bank Assets and putting them to economic use in a profitable manner.

    Currently, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) owns 60 percent of the company with the remaining 40 per cent held by the Ibru family.

    Aero Contractors Nigeria’s oldest airline  commenced business in 1959, initially providing services to oil and gas sector, before venturing into fix wing operations in the year 2000.

    The statement reads: “AMCON has also engaged a reputable accounting firm to undertake a forensic audit of the airline’s accounts over the last five years.

    “AMCON is both the majority shareholder and creditor of Aero.

    “An Industry based management team will be put in place to provide the highest level of professional competence which would ensure a quick repositioning of the company.

    “The management of AMCON decided to make changes in the management of the airline to protect the brand heritage of the airline.

    “AMCON also maintains that its intervention is in the public interest to sustain and improve the robust and premium quality service which Aero is known for in the country.

    “AMCON would like to assure the regulatory authorities, the traveling public and key stakeholders that the airline will continue to operate on the solid foundation of safety and security with excellent customer service.”

     

     

  • AMCON debtors

    AMCON debtors

    •Time to shut them out of the financial system

    Five and half years after the establishment of the nation’s ‘Bad Bank’ – the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) – to take over the toxic assets that had impaired the balance sheets of operators in the banking sector, the corporation is itself stuck in the pit of unrealisable assets.

    While appearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions last week, Managing Director, AMCON Ahmed Kuru, was reported as lamenting that rich Nigerians indebted to the agency continue to live large, flying around the globe in their private jets, while neglecting to meet their obligations to the corporation. He put the figure being owed the corporation at N5.4trillion.

    After several cycles of ‘name and shame’ of the chronic debtors, we find it troubling that little has changed in terms of the attitude of the debtors to meeting their obligations to the lenders. If the development exemplifies the familiar pathology that continues to manifest in every strand of the nation’s public life – the impunity that has since assumed a way of life for the powerful elite –AMCON’s utter helplessness offers a classic study in institutional paralysis.

    To imagine that we are here talking of barely 300 individuals or entities  – according to AMCON – accounting for more than 80 per cent of these  outstanding obligations; a club so powerful that when they sneeze the entire financial sector catches cold – and now so powerful as to be untouchable. That’s a dangerous way to organise a modern economy or society. To allow that is to encourage further impunity.

    We recognise that a number of variables beyond the control of the debtors could partly explain some of the cases of bad loans. There is certainly a world of difference between victims of legitimate ventures that have gone bad due to inclement operating environment and the activities of a cabal that have made a habit of preying on the financial system. Unfortunately, it is the activities of the latter that have cast a dark shadow on the former and with it, the recourse to criminalise what are ordinarily commercial transactions.

    The above naturally throws up the question of how the debts were contracted in the first place. Did these loans actually go through the whole hog of due process? It seems particularly doubtful that these loans were adequately secured. Could it be a case of unrealisable assets being pledged given the pervasive impunity of the era?

    Has AMCON explored all legitimate means to recover the loans or are there especial encumbrances that require amendment to its enabling law? These questions are certainly pertinent.

    Be that as it may, the issues are quite clear: All debtors have an obligation to pay what they owe. The challenge is for those among the debtors who truly mean well to step forward to engage AMCON in a show of good faith. Agreed, the current economic challenges dictate that AMCON think outside the box to find a solution that reflects the exigencies of the current time. But that can only happen when the debtors accept without reservation that they have an obligation to discharge; certainly not when those who have taken money out of the system without paying back are seen junketing round the globe in symbols of unmerited wealth.  As it is, AMCON needs to move swiftly to halt what it has itself identified as the reign of impunity, using every means recognised by the law. After trying out the tactics of naming and shaming and other variants of moral suasion to no avail, it seems about time to ensure that the pathological borrowers are shut out of the financial system – at least until such a time that they make good on their debts.

  • Senate backs AMCON on recovery of N5.4tr debt

    Senate backs AMCON on recovery of N5.4tr debt

    The Senate yesterday backed efforts by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to recover over N5.4 trillion debts owed it by some firms and individuals.

    Top officials of AMCON held a closed door meeting with the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions in Abuja to plot ways and means of recovering the debt.

    Members of the committee lamented the inability of AMCON to recover the debts, especially now that the country is passing through difficult economic times.

    A member of the committee said AMCON was mandated to take stringent steps aimed at recovering the huge amount of money.

    Managing Director of AMCON, Ahmed Kuru, who spoke to reporters after the meeting, said members of the committee were not only disturbed but ready to ensure that the N5.4 trillion is repaid.

    Kuru said some of the debtors have refused to repay what they borrowed despite attempts to recover the debts.

    He noted that the challenge AMCON is facing to recover the debts is enormous.

    He said: “We have seen that most of the debtors in AMCON are big men that fly in private jets, live in big mansions and they have taken money and they are not paying back.

    “They (members of the committee) are really disturbed and they are ready to do anything under the law to ensure that the N5.4trillion that is outstanding obligation of AMCON is repaid.

    “The passion members of the committee have shown to us is unprecedented. Because we showed to them in its raw form the challenge that we are having, particularly now that the economy is not doing very well.

     

  • Senate backs AMCON on recovery of N5.4tr debt

    The Senate on Monday threw its weight behind efforts by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to recover over N5.4 trillion debts owed it by some firms and individuals.

    Top officials of AMCON held a closed door meeting with the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions in Abuja to plot how to recover the debt.

    Findings showed that members of the committee lamented the inability of AMCON to recover the debts especially now that the country is passing through difficult economic times.

    A member of the committee said AMCON was mandated to take stringent steps aimed at recovering the huge amount of money.

    The Managing Director of AMCON, Ahmed Kuru, who spoke to journalists after the meeting, said members of the committee were not only disturbed but ready to ensure that the N5.4 trillion is repaid.

    Kuru said that some of the debtors have simply refused to repay what they borrowed despite attempts to recover the debts.

    He noted that the challenge AMCON is facing to recover the debts is enormous.

    He said, “We have seen that most of the debtors in AMCON are big men that fly in private jets, live in big mansions and they have taken money and they are not paying back.

    “They (members of the committee) are really disturbed and they are ready to do anything under the law to ensure that the N5.4trillion that is outstanding obligation of AMCON is repaid.

    “The passion members of the committee have shown to us is unprecedented. Because we showed to them in its raw form the challenge that we are having, particularly now that the economy is not doing very well.”

  • Aviation workers accuse AMCON of running down Aero

    Aviation workers accuse AMCON of running down Aero

    Workers of Aero Airlines yesterday staged a peaceful protest around the airport alleging that the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) is mismanaging funds injected into the carrier.

    The workers spoke through the branch Chairman of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Comrade Emoapo Ayo-Ife.

    The management of the airline is yet to comment on the matter.

    The chief executive officer of the public relation agency managing the airline, Mr Simon Tumba, said he has not been briefed by its client on the matter.

    Ayo-Ife alleged that since 2011, when AMCON invested huge sums of money into Aero, the airline has not been making any headway.

    He said when AMCON brought in the current Board of Directors in 2011, the company had about 11 aircraft but lamented that it currently has only five aircraft.

    He called for the dissolution of the board alleging that the huge sums invested in the airline to acquire equipment could not be accounted for.

    He said: “AMCON invested about N10billion in this company (Aero Contractors Airline) since they came here; when they came in, we had 11 aeroplane and now we are down to five aircraft.

    “They paid a $9million to a company in Brazil which we are yet to retrieve and nobody is talking about all that. “All we are asking for is a prudent management and workers welfare. We want AMCON to dissolve the board.

  • Senate confirms AMCON MD, others

    The Senate yesterday confirmed the appointment of Ahmed Lawan Kuru as the Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    Also confirmed were Kola Adeye, Eberechukwu Fortunate Uneze and Aminu Ismail as Executive Director of the corporation.

    This followed the submission and the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, presented the report for adoption.

    In the same vain, the Senate also confirmed the appointment of Professor Umaru Garba Danbatta as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    This followed the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Communications presented by the Chairman of the committee, Senator Gilbert Nnaji.

  • Senate confirms Kuru as AMCON MD

    Senate confirms Kuru as AMCON MD

    The Senate Thursday confirmed the appointment of Ahmed Lawan Kuru as the Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    Also confirmed were Kola Adeye, Eberechukwu Fortunate Uneze and Aminu Ismail as Executive Director of the corporation.

    This followed the submission and the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, presented the report for adoption.

  • Reps to probe AMCON’s N5trillion debts

    Reps to probe AMCON’s N5trillion debts

    The House of Representatives is to investigate the huge debt profile of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    It will set up an ad hoc committee, which will also examine whether the acquisition and sale of assets, banks, shares and landed property by AMCON was consistent with due process and extant laws.

    The committee will ascertain if the operations of AMCON are devoid of fraud, and determine the losses, if any, suffered by Nigeria as a result.

    The committee is to report back to the House within six weeks.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by a member, Hon. Gabriel Onyenweife who claimed that AMCON had accumulated over $25 billion (about N5trillion) debts as against the mandate of a debt profile of N800 billion as a ceiling, and thus has exceeded its debt ceiling  by N4.2trillion.

    “The AMCON balance sheet has a shortfall of N3.8 trillion ($19 billion) and that the geometric accumulation of debts by AMCON will no doubt endanger the dwindling national reserves put at $30 billion  since the Federal Government is the guarantor of AMCON bonds as enshrined in Section 27 of AMCON Act, 2010,” he said.

    The lawmaker said the accumulated debts of AMCON in five years were more than the debts owed by the Federal Government to the Paris Club of creditors in 50 years.

    He said: ”Over N2trillion was lost in the not-too-transparent process adopted in the sale of some banks, including Oceanic Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Enterprise Bank, and MainStreet Bank.”

    The lawmaker alleged that the disposal of assets, such as shares landed property, plant and equipment acquired by AMCON was shrouded in secrecy.

    “Most of the assets disposed were alleged to have been sold to cronies and close associates of the officials of the corporation without recourse to due process or extant laws.

    “If these practices of AMCON are not urgently addressed , its negative impact on the banking sector, which is the soul of the Nigerian economy, will not only impact negatively but will also jeopardise its health,” he said.

    The motion was passed when the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, called for a vote.

  • Buhari wants Senate’s nod for FIRS, AMCON, NCC Chiefs

    Buhari wants Senate’s nod for FIRS, AMCON, NCC Chiefs

    The Senate on Tuesday received communications from President Muhammadu Buhari requesting confirmation of the appointments of Mr. Babatunde Fowler as Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    Also received was a request for approval of Alhaji Umaru Danbata as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).

    Similarly, the name of Alhaji Ahmed Kuru was also forwarded to the upper legislative body for confirmation as the Managing Director of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    The names of Kola Ayeye, Eberechukwu Uneze and Aminu Ismail were also forwarded for approval as Executive Directors of AMCON.