AMCON sells off Ibadan Disco for N100bn as assets sale begins

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has commenced sale of assets of debtors with a number of high profile assets already listed for sale in its bid to recover over N4 trillion non-performing loans. One of them, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), has reportedly been sold off for N100bn with the process of handing […]

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has commenced sale of assets of debtors with a number of high profile assets already listed for sale in its bid to recover over N4 trillion non-performing loans.

One of them, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), has reportedly been sold off for N100bn with the process of handing over to the preferred bidder almost concluded.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, Mr. Gbenga Alade, at a media parley in Lagos disclosed that the distribution company was already sold before he assumed office at a price lower than its value before it was reversed.

He stated that following the intervention of his executive management, the corporation got a buyer who paid double the price it was earlier sold for.

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The Federal Government had earlier hinted of plans to sell off discos under the receivership of AMCON, its assets recovery arm and IBEDC is one of such.

The four others taken over by the federal government in 2022 are the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Kaduna Electric, and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED).

Speaking yesterday, AMCON CEO confirmed the sale of IBEDC, saying, “Ibadan Disco has been sold. We got almost double what the company was going to be sold for.”

Alade stated that dealing with debtors has not been easy but dealing with high profile debtors whom he stated had damaged the Nigerian economy because of their unwillingness to pay back loans secured from banks, has been the most challenging.

Daily Trust reports that AMCON was set up with the legal mandate to manage Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of banks by offloading the toxic assets from their books and injecting fresh funds, aligning with corporate insolvency restructuring principles.

The MD however stated that the AMCON Executive and its board would not be deterred by the antics of obligors, declaring, “We will go about our recovery mandate with fear of God, love for Nigeria and respect for the rule of law.

“Please, no matter the skewed narration, these obligors come to give to you in your different newsrooms; kindly take it with a pinch of salt.

“If you recall, the last time we met, we told you there was a ban on asset sales. But today, with the Board now in place, the sale of assets by AMCON has been lifted, and consequently, we have sold some high-profile assets running into several billions of Naira.”

To improve the recovery efforts, he disclosed that the corporation had commissioned some foreign asset tracers “who will help us locate where some of these obligors have hidden their assets across the globe.”

He said Arik Air (in Receivership) is returning to profitability, and our engagements with AfreximBank are yielding positive results. Aero Contractors is also delivering massive value in the country. As of today, Aero is the only airline in Nigeria with an MRO, and that can only be the result of effective and prudent management.

The CEO said, AMCON’s recovery efforts have been strongly supported by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the judiciary, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General of the Federation, the EFCC, the Police, the ICPC, the National Assembly, and a host of other sister agencies of the government.