A National Assembly bill to empower the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to take more stringent actions against defaulters is on the way

Jones Chukwudi Onyereri, the chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, on Tuesday evening, November 6, in Abuja said the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will in the next one or two weeks present the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, Amendment Bill before the House of Representatives. The bill is seeking to further empower and embolden the AMCON with more powers to go after chronic obligors of the corporation.

Onyereri who made the declaration when he led other members of the committee on a routine oversight function at the corporate head office of the AMCON in Maitama, Abuja noted that House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency owes it a duty to Nigerians as mandated by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to visit some of the critical institutions such as the AMCON to review their budget performance within the financial year.

After a grilling session following the AMCON 2018 budget performance presentation by Ahmed Lawan Kuru, the managing director/chief executive officer of the organisation, the lawmaker, who represents the largest constituency in Imo State reaffirmed the commitment of the House of Representatives to support the AMCON recover the huge outstanding debt in the hands of a few recalcitrant obligors.

Providing an insight into how exactly the House of Representatives would aide recovery in the next financial year, Onyereri said: “As speak to you now, I want to assure you that this committee, which I humbly serve as Chairman would in the next one or two weeks submit the AMCON Amendment Bill to the House of Representatives for the third reading after which it would be moved to the Senate for final deliberation. The committee has worked tirelessly to ensure that when the Bill is passed, AMCON will be further empowered to deliver on their mandate.”

The AMCON, he added, remains an interventionist institution of the Federal Government, which falls under the purview of the House Committee’s oversight function. If AMCON is to deliver on their mandate by recovering the over N5.4trillion outstanding debt, the corporation will, therefore, need the support and association of all other government agencies to succeed. “We have thoroughly reviewed the 2018 budget performance of the corporation vis-à-vis what was approved for them. The committee is satisfied with the performance, which would also help the committee make projections and also provide guidance as the case may be against their 2019 budget,” Onyereri said.

As drilling as the session was, Kuru in his remark described the oversight visit by the committee as a good feedback mechanism, which has over the years afforded the AMCON the opportunity to rub minds with the legislature as well as draw from the wisdom of the lawmakers to efficiently and effectively pilot the affairs of organisation. He, however, assured the lawmakers that the current management of AMCON under his leadership will continually remain prudent just as it would continue to persevere in the face of adversity posed by the difficult socio-political and economic realities in the country.