The federal government has been urged once more by shareholders acting via the Independent Shareholders Association (ISAN) to thoroughly examine the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria’s activities (AMCON).
The Coordinator Emeritus of ISAN, Sir Sunny Nwosu, stated at a press conference in Lagos over the weekend that “as concerned domestic investors, our patriotism is not in doubt as we demand once again the complete review of AMCON to determine its relevance to the economy or totally abrogate the agency following the declining values of companies taken over by the corporation and the current national economic challenges.” He said that between 2020 and 2021, charges of 0. 5% on the total assets of nine banks, including on and off-balance sheet issues, brought AMCON roughly N327.6 billion.
The debt collection agency also collected N125. 9 billion from 12 commercial banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange. AMCON was tasked with buying hazardous loans from struggling banks at a discount.
Investors are worried because AMCON is edging closer to becoming a bankrupt government agency as a result of its massive debt load, which as of this writing was over N16 trillion. Its foray into the acquisition of new non-performing loans from banks outside the scope of its original charter.