Reps c’ttee raises questions over AMCON’s assets sale

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has expressed concern over the alleged lack of due diligence by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in its acquisition and sale of Federal Government assets, warning that the lapses could undermine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic recovery efforts. In a statement on Tuesday, the Chairman […]

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has expressed concern over the alleged lack of due diligence by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in its acquisition and sale of Federal Government assets, warning that the lapses could undermine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic recovery efforts.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ademorin Kuye, said AMCON’s operations had been riddled with irregularities, prompting court reversals of its transactions.

“One example is the recent nullification of the sale of the property at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos,” Kuye said.

He recalled that the committee is investigating AMCON’s handling of the 80% Federal Government stake in Delta Steel Company, Aladja, first sold in 2006 to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd (GINL), later collateralised in loans that went bad, and controversially resold by AMCON in 2015.

“In 2015, AMCON purportedly sold a 100% stake to Premium Steel, a company that could not make the initial down payment and instead resorted to asset stripping to pay for Delta Steel. This pattern of questionable transactions is visible across AMCON’s footprint in the power sector such as the crisis-ridden Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, hospitality, finance, and manufacturing,” he said.

“AMCON was created in 2010 as a stabilisation tool to clean up toxic bank debts and restore investor confidence. Unfortunately, its buyback and resale process has left a bitter taste, with many economic players and analysts describing it as an illegal conduit for using public funds to acquire prime assets for cronies,” he added.

The lawmaker warned that the continued mismanagement of public assets by AMCON would reflect negatively on Tinubu’s efforts to reposition the economy and root out corruption in government dealings.