TheCable

Kanu Agabi, two-time attorney general of the federation, says the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) needs decisive action from judges to get Nigeria out of recession.

Speaking at the judges’ forum of the federal high court in Abuja, Agabi called on judges handling cases concerning asset and its debtors to pile pressure on the obligors to repay the huge debts, which he said were capable of revitalising the economy.

He said now that the country is experiencing recession, it is the duty of every well-meaning Nigerian to join the AMCON war towards recovering Nigeria’s assets from a few greedy individuals.

“I sincerely commend the Federal Government who thought it wise to establish AMCON to stabilise the Nigerian economy. If not for that wise decision, the economy of Nigeria would have been worse than it is today,” he said.

“I also commend the management of AMCON because of the enormous job they are doing to recover the country’s assets from a few debtors that have plundered the country and dragged our economy to where we are today.

“AMCON cannot do this job alone, which is why the judges that handle AMCON related cases should pile serious pressure on the debtors to enable AMCON recover these debts.”

Agabi insisted that the judiciary is the only arm of government that has the capacity to expand its powers to save a nation.

“If AMCON vs a debtor case comes before your Lordships, please I urge you to decide it decisively. It is a case of one man owing another man so it should not be difficult for you to decide. But then you cannot deliver as a judge if you are lacking in confidence.

“In your decisions those it did not favour (the debtors) will persecute you but you must bear it because you are serving the nation. It is in our collective interest that the country is restructured and our economy stabilised.

“But in arriving at your decisions, I want you to know that the success or failure of the management and staff of AMCON primarily resides with your Lordships and Judges, which means you need the fear of God, must consider national interest and exhibit professionalism in your decisions.”

Four hundred obligors of AMCON account for more than N4.5 trillion, which is approximately 80 per cent of the total outstanding loan balance of the corporation’s over twelve thousand accounts.

In recent times, AMCON has been utilising the special enforcement powers vested by the AMCON Act to compel debtors, especially those that are politically exposed and business heavyweights, to repay their debts.