The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has commenced resale of its assets, following an 18-month hiatus where sales were put on hold.
This, it said, was a move to recoup some of the bad loans it inherited, promising that any asset that will be sold by the corporation henceforth would not be undervalued but commands its true value.
To this end, it has renegotiated the earlier sale of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and got about N100billion from the transaction, almost twice the amount it was earlier sold.
Speaking at an interactive session with media executives in Lagos on Thursday, AMCON managing director/CEO, Mr. Gbenga Alade, said the divestment of IBEDC was almost completed and that AMCON would soon hand over the company to the preferred bidder.
Even though the current leadership of AMCON has stretched the bidders to get the best and most realistic value, he said there were still some distractions out there.
According to him, “For about one and a half year, AMCON has not sold any asset until a few weeks ago when we recommence the sale of assets. IBEDC will soon be handed over to the preferred bidder and we got almost double the price of what it was earlier sold. The process of this sale was transparent.”
IBEDC is one of the five electricity distribution companies (DisCos) being managed by AMCON. Others are; Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company.
Similarly, he said, Arik Air (in Receivership) was returning to profitability, as it was second most significant airline last year, even as AMCON’s engagements with AfreximBank were yielding positive results.
“Aero Contractors is also delivering massive value in the country. As of today, Aero is the only airline in Nigeria with an MRO, and that can only be the result of effective and prudent management,” he pointed out.
In a bid to ramp up recoveries, Alade said, “We have also commissioned some foreign asset tracers who will help us locate where some of these obligors have hidden their assets across the globe.”
He also disclosed that AMCON was finding a lasting solution to its moribund assets across the country, adding that it is currently engaging risk takers who are ready to take up the firms, invest in them and make them work again.
Assuring that the corporation will continue to discharge its mandate with the fear of God, love for the country and within the ambit of the law, he assured that the new AMCON will recover a lot of the bad loans it inherited through transparent asset sales to ensure that any asset sold really worth the price.
Earlier, he disclosed that obligors of the Corporation damaged the Nigerian economy because they never intended to repay the loans they borrowed from various banks.
“Unfortunately for them, we were told of this trend before we assumed office. So, we are not deterred by these antics. Our appointment is a call to serve the motherland, and we will deliver that with all humility and sincerity of purpose.
“Dealing with AMCON’s recalcitrant debtors is not easy, but dealing with such debtors who are in government, holding very high positions across different decision-making portfolios in governance in the country, is one of the most challenging tasks that I have ever faced in my career,” the AMCON boss stated.
