The Federal Government has set up a committee to come up with new approaches to recover debts owed the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON.
The debts run into trillions of naira.
Spokesman to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Mr. Laolu Akande, who made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja said the committee was set up following a meeting between the Vice President, some board members and management of AMCON and selected heads of government agencies, at the Presidential Villa on Monday.
The agencies included Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC and the permanent secretaries of the Ministries of Justice and Transportation.
The committee comprising the Heads of AMCON, EFCC, NFIU, ICPC and the Ministry of Justice, would be working to develop and implement new strategies that would ensure speedy recovery of the debts, Osinbajo said.
He said: “The key is collaboration.
“We need a small team comprising these agencies to look at the next steps that we need to take, especially the criminal aspect, forfeiture, and all of that.”
According to the Vice President, the committee should look at the top 20 AMCON defaulters closely and develop a plan of action that would bring results.
AMCON Chairman, Mr. Muiz Banire, had disclosed that almost 67 per cent of the Corporation’s outstanding debt was owed by 20 individuals/entities.
He said that the agency had been trying its best to recover the debts through the civil judicial process but had encountered several challenges.
Present at the meeting was the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the Chairman, ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye; the Director/Chief Executive Officer of, NFIU, Mr. Modibbo Tukur, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Sabiu Zakari, and other senior government officials.
