Ahmed Kuru: Repositioning AMCON for productivity

Using firmer negation strategies as well as utilizing special enforcement powers conferred by the AMCON Act to compel its debtors, the Ahmed Lawan Kuru-led management has injected a new lease of life into AMCON, ODUNEWU SEGUN writes

ESTABLISHED in 2010to revive the financial system by efficiently resolving the non-performing loan assets of the banks in the Nigerian economy, the Asset Management

Corporation of Nigeria is being hampered by its huge debt profile.

With over 200 influential Nigerians indebted to it to the tune of N1.14trn as a result of non-performing loans granted by commercial banks over the years, to which it bought in other for the banks to stay afloat, the Ahmed Lawan Kuru led management is facing a daunting tasks at AMCON.

Although as a body, AMCON clearly has its job cut out for it. The irony, however, is that it has not had a smooth sail thus far, with the different battles confronting the Corporation on many fronts fueled in part by recalcitrant debtors whose stock-in-trade includes seeking one court injunctions to the other to frustrate genuine recovery efforts.
The previous administration under Mustafa Chike-Obi did it best to stabilize the corporation, especially in its formative years, but some people are of the opinion that the administration was too lenient with the corporation’s high profile debtors. As a result, the loan profile continue to rise to the extent that the non-performing loans of most banks in the country began to threaten the stability of the banking industry.

Over the years, many banks have accumulated more non-performing loans, and AMCON had since lost the capacity to acquire new liabilities due to the fact that it has not able to resolve the over N5.1 trillion non-performing loans it acquired from the banking industry between 2010 and 2012.

Upon assumption of office in 2015, Ahmed Lawan Kuru, an astute banker communicated a resolute focus on re-positioning AMCON as a serious and professional institution, one that is driven not only by a zest to protect public interest but also to implementing policies that will enhance economic growth, keep critical businesses alive, save jobs and reduce unemployment.

With his over 30 years as an administrator in the banking industry, he understands the efficacy of dialogue, to which he engaged the corporation’s debtors to re-negotiate new realistic re-payment plans. Some of the debtors responded. But the majority, most of whom are the heavy debtors whose debts are in the N10 billion and above category, did not turn up for the meetings.

Having tried diplomacy and recorded minimal success, for the first time, AMCON published the names of about 200 firms and their directors whose total outstanding debts was put at a whopping N1.146 trillion in various National newspapers.

According to Kuru, these ‘big men’, who are just 300 in number, account for more than 80 percent of the outstanding N5.6 trillion debt being managed by AMCON. The new AMCON CEO’s strategy, in line with the tough anti-corruption stance of President Muhammadu Buhari, is to ensure that all debts are recovered and bonds redeemed.

Ahmed Lawan Kuru is not alone in the fight against those who think they can continue using political influence to escape responsibility for their debts, there are three other executive directors working assiduously to reposition the corporation.

ALSO SEE: AMCON battles politicians, businessmen over N4.5bn debts

Kola Ayeye, who holds a B.Sc in Accounting from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an M.sc in Finance from University of Lagos is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

With over 18 years of experience in banking and financial services consulting, he has served as a General Manager at Oceanic Bank International Plc and also Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank of Nigeria Ltd. He had also served as General Manager in National Bank and is a pioneer member of the resuscitation team. He has been Executive Director of MainStreet Bank Limited since August 2011.

There is also Eberechukwu Uneze, a regular contributor to international policy seminars on Africa’s growth and economic development. He has over 10 years of experience in handling results-based development and public policy projects. His research interest cuts across Public Economics and Policy Analysis, Development Finance, Results-based Public Financial Management, and Outcome and Impact Evaluation.

He has a Bsc in Economics from Imo State University, MSC Economic Management and policy from University of Strathclyde, Ph.D in Economics from the University of Kent among several other academic qualifications.

Finally, there is Aminu Ismail, an astitute banker with over 20 years of experience. He holds a Bachelor of Sciences (B.Sc) degree in Accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA), from Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

His banking career started in 1992when he left Pannell Ker Foster to join Credit Lyonnais Nigeria Limited. He then joined FSB International Bank Plc where he held several managerial positions, and was Group Head, ENSEC and Investment Banking at the time of the merger with Fidelity Bank Plc. He then went on to become Regional Head at the United Bank of Nations (UBA). Prior to his appointment as an Executive director of AMCON he was the Executive Director Enterprise Bank Ltd.