..To publish more bad debtors

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has commenced the sale of assets of bad debtors.

Already, AMCOM has advertised 34 properties for sale yesterday in its website for those banks’ assets purchased from various eligible financial institutions in Nigeria.

AMCON’s Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, hinted that the corporation will publish names of all its bad debtors today (Wednesday).

Our correspondents gathered that the debts are in excess of N900 billion and some have been non-performing for years.
The 34 properties are spread across some states in Nigeria with majority of them located in Lagos and Abuja.

Some of the properties up for sale include; Multitenant office complex, Metro Plaza Building Central Area Abuja and PAN Shampet Building  Kakuri industrial area –     Industrial building with warehouse, factory and offices.

Others are Marina View Plaza in Lagos, and other unmarked properties in choice areas like Ikoyi, Ikeja, Festac Town, Apapa and Victoria Insland.

Mr. Kuru had earlier told journalists that majority in the list to be published are individuals or companies that are unwilling to discuss terms of payment with AMCON.

Efforts to speak to the AMCOM CEO to provide specifics on the debtors failed as he didn’t return SMS sent to his phone or answer phone calls as at press time. Most of the debts are from the assets AMCON bought from the banks.

The AMCON boss said the names would be published in phases in order to observe the level of compliance after the first publication.

AMCON said it paid for those assets based on their marketability. “For some assets, we paid 80 per cent, some 90 per cent, and some 100 per cent. The ones we paid 80 – 100 per cent meant that there was something tangible for us to hold. “Now, if the business cannot thrive anymore, come and surrender the asset to us. We either sell it or give it to some other parties interested in running the business. So our appeal is for people to come and start talking to us because that is key,” AMCON said.

Meanwhile, First Bank and Sterling Bank have recommenced publication of the bad debtors this week. The lists contain many prominent companies and their directors who collected billions of naira as loans and refused to pay back.

Culled—-Daily Trust By Hamiu Muhammad & Chris Agabi