Senate Throws Weight Behind AMCON

The Chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, has disclosed plans by the Senate under the able leadership of Dr. Bukola Saraki, to do everything it takes to empower the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to realise the mandate given to the corporation.

The Senator, who spoke today at the opening of the Committee’s retreat at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja stated that the upper chamber, as part of its oversight function, decided that AMCON requires more support from the legislature if indeed Nigerians expect the Corporation to succeed in line with its sunset clause.

In a keynote address he delivered at the commencement of the retreat titled: “AMCON as a catalyst for Economic Recovery,” Ibrahim said the upper chamber intends to have serious discussions as soon as possible, which would further enhance AMCON’s recovery mandate.

A statement quoted the lawmaker to have added: “Since inauguration, AMCON has been a key stabilising and re-vitalising tool in the Nigerian financial system and requires more support from the legislature to achieve its statutory objectives. This is the main reason why this retreat has been convened with the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.

“In this retreat, we hope to make a case for AMCON to take on a larger and more proactive economic responsibility especially given its special place in the economy. To this end, serious conversation needs to occur on how best AMCON can intervene in the current economic situation of Nigeria beyond asset recovery.”

While commending the chief executive of AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru, told the lawmakers that having fully harvested the low hanging fruits in the first and second stages of AMCON operations, the success or failure of the corporation at its present stage would be heavily dependent on the legislature.

He said most of the obligors of AMCON were employing different antics in law to tie up the Corporation in different courts.The AMCON CEO said, “There is need for a change of strategy. This job is not an easy assignment by any definition because every obligor has a perception of AMCON and are willing to tie us up in court.

“That is why you see that every week we have fresh enemies. Therefore, we need very strong legislative framework, which would for instance make it possible for all AMCON cases to terminate at the Appeal Court.”