Nigeria: Govt Sets Up Inter-Agency Committee to Recover N5trn
Amcon Debt
After issuing several threats
and warnings without compliance, the federal government has swung into action
by inaugurating an inter-agency committee to recover over N5 trillion Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) debts.
The chunk of the debt, the government said, is owed by only 20
individuals and organisations.
The fresh move to recover the huge debt was announced in Abuja,
yesterday, by the senior special assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande.
In a statement, he issued on the development, Akande said that
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who inaugurated the committee at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja, tasked the members to deploy their expertise in the assignment.
The committee is headed by the
chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye.
Osinbajo said that by constituting the committee, the government
was adopting a new approach in recovering the AMCON debts.
He, therefore, urged the committee to turn the tide in what had
been a difficult process where the debtors had continued to default in their
payment obligations.
About 67 per cent of the N5 trillion debts, according to
official sources, is owed by only 20 individuals/entities.
Following the challenges encountered in the debt-recovery
processes and the limited success so far recorded, the committee is expected to
consider other options, including taking enforcement measures to recover the
money.
Osinbajo said: "One of the
terms of reference is for the committee to prepare a report, giving us a sense
of what the timelines would be. I congratulate you on the very onerous task
that has been set, to render this service.
"I know that given the kind of individuals here, you will
definitely turn this whole narrative around. So, I wish you all very
well," he said.
Members of the committee include heads and representatives of
agencies such as AMCON, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Others are heads of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the
Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and the Federal Ministry of
Justice.
The committee is expected to
review the status of the debts owed to AMCON, deliberate on practical, legal
and other strategies for the recovery of the money.
It is also expected to prepare a report, which will include a
debt recovery work plan with specific timelines for completion.
Owasanoye thanked the vice president for the confidence reposed
in the group, adding that the members would do their best to recover most of
the debts.
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