Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed has advised the management of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) led by Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer to do everything with the powers of its newly amended Act to recover the huge debt owed the Corporation by a few individuals and organisations in the country.
Other Ministries Agencies and Departments (MDAs) including the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mamman Ahmadu also declared their willingness to collaborate with AMCON in its quest to recover the debt, which he said will help liberate the economy as well as improve the commonwealth of the nation.
The BPP chief said the bureau has intensified its due diligence process and will ensure that those seeking contract from the government are scrutinised to establish the fact that they are not on the list of AMCON debtors before contracts are awarded.
Mrs. Ahmed spoke in Abuja during the quarterly briefing of the Ministry of Finance, attended by agencies under the supervision of the Ministry. While commending AMCON on the national assignment, she however said she expects a lot more from the Corporation especially now that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the amended 2019 AMCON Act into law, which gives additional powers to AMCON to deal with the obligors.
“AMCON must ensure that the debts are recovered before the sunset, which is around the corner,” she said.
If AMCON at sunset AMCON fails to recover the huge bad loans, the debt will become government problem, which the government is not willing to carry. Therefore, everything must be done to ensure that AMCON recovers the debt from the obligors because it will have a huge positive impact on the economy,” the minister said.
While urging all the agencies under the ministry’s supervision to always remember the 11 priority areas of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the discharge of their duties, the Minister added that the quarterly meeting had become critical because it creates the enabling platform for sister agencies of government to cross-fertilise ideas for improved collaboration and delivery.
