February 21, (THEWILL) – Despite the directive from the National Assembly, persistent threats and what appeared unyielding moves to ‘name and shame’, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) failed to publish the names of the 7,912 delinquent debtors alleged to owe a total sum of N4.4 trillion. It had vowed to take the action at the end of its 30-day ultimatum to the debtors if they failed to regularise their debt status. The ultimatum expired on January 5, 2022. But the publication was not made.
The Senate had in April 2021 passed the AMCON Amendment Bill, meant to strengthen the corporation’s loan recovery. The bill, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2021, empowers AMCON to, amongst others, take possession, manage or sell all properties traced to debtors, whether or not such assets or property are used as security/collateral for obtaining the loan in particular. The amended bill also extended the life of AMCON by five years.
In a bid to fire from all cylinders, AMCON had also submitted a list of its top 1,000 debtors to the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency at a retreat of the lawmakers in Lagos in November 2021. The House Committee chairman, Mr Victor Nwokolo, was quoted as saying that the committee had called for the list so that the National Assembly would know “those holding the country to ransom.”
He said this would enable the lawmakers to meet with relevant agencies of the federal government on how to further deal with the debtors to ensure the realisation of AMCON’s mandate in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy. Nwokolo also said that the National Assembly was considering punitive measures in dealing with those whose names made the top 1,000 AMCON debtors list.
The AMCON’s spokesperson, Mr Jude Nwauzor, had said that debtors who were yet to provide a repayment proposal risked having their details published in the media after the 30-day grace period given by the National Assembly. He added that the corporation had no choice but to obey the directive of the National Assembly asking it to publish the names of debtors who have refused to repay their loans.
“AMCON has taken the decision to publish already. The decision has been taken already. It is a directive from the National Assembly. As a responsible corporate citizen, this was why we published an advertorial to warn all the entities concerned that their names will be published at the expiration of the ultimatum. The one month grace period will be expiring on January 5, 2021,” Nwuzor was quoted as saying.
But, why did AMCON fail to publish the list? THEWILL learnt that the corporation had to bow to pressure from entities close to the government urging AMCON to suspend the action. Reliable sources who are familiar with the matter told THEWILL that some powerful persons and groups had threatened to take actions that could embarrass both the government and AMCON if their identities were made public in the planned ‘name and shame’ course of action.
“AMCON has suspended the publication of the so-called delinquent debtors contrary to its earlier threat, and may not publish the names. There is pressure from highly placed entities who could rock the boat should their identities be so exposed”, a reliable source said. Furthermore, given the controversial nature of some of the debts, AMCON cannot but back-pedal this time, because some debts will never be recovered given their origin, the source added.
AMCON was contacted but did not offer an explanation on why the corporation failed to publish the list of the delinquent debtors in January, 2022.
Asset-Tracing Suit
Meanwhile, an indigenous firm, Fieldreams Estate Limited, has dragged AMCON to court for allegedly failing to honour the terms of an asset-tracing contract executed with it. The case was registered for adjudication in July 2021.
THEWILL findings showed that AMCON through its Lawyers, Aluko & Oyebode, hired the services of Fieldreams, to trace eligible bank assets of Tanzilla Petroleum Co. Limited and Al-Kahf Resources Limited. The owner of these firms, Alhaji Segun Gbadamosi, was said to be indebted to AMCON to the tune of over N29 billion. The debt accrued from facilities granted to Gbadamosi by the defunct Intercontinental Bank, defunct Oceanic Bank and GT Bank, which AMCON eventually bought over.
In order to trace the debtor’s assets for confiscation, AMCON hired the services of the asset-tracing firm, Fieldreams, owned by Mr Ifeanyi Nweke.
THEWILL learnt that AMCON agreed to pay Fieldreams the sum of N500 million should it successfully trace the debtor’s eligible bank assets valued at the threshold sum of over N51 billion. This newspaper further learnt that Fieldreams was able to trace a major eligible bank asset, Okaba Coal Mine, to the same Alhaji Gbadamosi. The asset, valued at US$50 billion, is located in Kogi state.
Consequently, Fieldreams, through its Lawyers, Victor Ukutt & Co, argued that having successfully carried out the job in accordance with the terms of the contract, Fieldreams was entitled to the full value of the agreed fee. The coal mine is presently warehoused under Aura Integrated Energy Resources Limited which, our source said, was allegedly meant to conceal the true ownership of the facility.
THEWILL was told that following Fieldreams Asset-Tracing Report to AMCON on the discovery of Okaba Coal Mine, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was contacted who went after the debtor and he paid N100 million as part of the debt. AMCON paid Fieldreams the sum of N5 million as part-payment of the asset-tracing contract fee.
This newspaper learnt that following AMCON’s failure to pay the agreed contract fee, Fieldreams dragged the commission to court praying that AMCON be ordered to comply with the terms of the asset-tracing contract executed through its Lawyers, Aluko & Oyebode, who are also AMCON’s Receiver/Managers.
Consequently, Justice K. A. Ajose of Lagos High Court sitting at Osborne II, Ikoyi, Lagos, on January 22, 2022 dismissed AMCON’s prayer that the trial be stopped and the matter referred to an Arbitration Court as the contract contained an arbitration clause. The court ruled that AMCON should pay Fieldreams the agreed contract fee having fulfilled the terms of the contract regarding the asset-tracing clause.
When the matter, registered as Suit No. LD/4289CM/2021, came up for hearing on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, AMCON through its lawyers, Aluko and Oyebode, brought up a motion for stay of execution of the January 22, 2022 Ruling. The case has been adjourned.
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
