Says airline has to come forward with options to sort out its N300 billion liability.
..recovers over N280billion in the last ten years.
CAPTION L-R: Mr Kamilu Omokide, Receiver/Manager Arik Air; Mrs Iyatum Adode-Kobiti, Group Head, Corporate Services, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON); Mr Ahmed Lawan Kuru OFR, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, AMCON and Mr Olugbenga Ataiyero, CFO AMCON at the media parley organised by AMCON in Lagos…Monday
Managing Director of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, Ahmed Kuru has raised hope that in spite of the huge liability on close to N300 billion on the neck of now rested Arik Airline, there is still a hope for its revival to be able to settle its liabilities.
He spoke in Lagos at an interactive session with Editors.
According to Kuru, since AMCON is not an undertaker but an outfit set up to recover loans, it is not interested in the demise of any business concern but more of its survival and ability to become solvent.
Speaking further, he said that various options are being considered to the owners of Arik and Aero Contractors,the two biggest private concerns that have gone under from it’s leading position due both to operating environment and management operations.
He said that AMCON is interested in the revival of Arik and Aero adding that it is an irony that a company that was supposed to take delivery of 30 aircraft as at 2011 suddenly went insolvent that it has only seven aircraft on ground.
On the Aviation industry, he said it is a very tough terrain considering the fact that no airline in the country has run successfully for ten consecutive years.
On the performances of it’s loan recovery,he disclosed that the organisation has been able to retrieve close to N1.64 trillion naira out of a staggering N3.6trillion buy back in the last ten years.
He said that contrary to belief the creation of AMCON does not encourage the debtors to just walk away and the outfit close shop after a period of time adding that for the past ten years the corporation has been able to sustain the need for continuity in operations.
“We are passing through a transition. You can’t close AMCON and just walk away like that”, he declared.
Kuru disclosed that out of the 12,000 accounts which made the N3.6 trillion loan portfolio, 350 accounts made up more than 80% of the total recoverable loan.
He disclosed that as at present, the AMCON is in court with 264 out of the 350 adding that most of the companies which incurred the loan and are sealed or taken up by the corporation are actually dead before it’s intervention.
Kuru disclosed further that contrary to generally held belief, the mandate of AMCON is not to kill business but added that the reality is that most of the business are already dead before AMCON steps in.
“We don’t just go near a business running well but most of the companies we took over are dead while we take steps to ensure that those still running does not go under after our intervention”.
“Most of these companies are actually in Intensive Care Units of revival while some are practically dead but needed to dispose assets to revive or sold off as bad business”,he disclosed.
In answer to a question as to the level of exposure of companies to loans,he is of the opinion that the Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN,has a duty in this regard since AMCON is not interested in how outfits are run but that investments and capital are rescued.
“We don’t get involved in business as we expect people to stand for themselves and run it well.ut is when they have problem with public funds that we come in.
