FG sets up committee to recover AMCON loans to banks, organisations

The Federal Government has set up an inter-agency committee on recovery of loans granted to commercial banks and corporate organizations by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

The committee, inaugurated in Abuja by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), is to coordinate the recovery of loans owed to AMCON.

His media aide, Sailhu Othman Isah, in a statement on Monday quoted the minister as saying that AMCON was established by the Act of the National Assembly to prevent the collapse of the Nigerian banking sector following the crisis that trailed the Bank Consolidation Reforms in 2008.

Malami said the situation led to huge indebtedness for banks which culminated in the eventual purchase of the toxic loans by AMCON in order to stabilize the banking sector, and by extension the Nigerian economy.

He disclosed that the debtors, including players in the aviation, banking and oil and gas sectors, failed to repay the loans, while some of them had resulted to court actions all in the bid to frustrate AMCON loan recovery efforts.