House of Reps to present AMCON’s amendment bill in two weeks

By Chioma Obinagwam

The Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Hon. Sir Jones Onyereri this evening in Abuja said the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will in the next one or two weeks present the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Amendment Bill before the House of Representatives.

The bill is seeking to further empower and embolden AMCON with more powers to go after chronic obligors of the Corporation.

Hon. Onyereri who made the declaration when he led other members of the committee on a routine oversight function at the Corporate Head Office of AMCON in Maitama, Abuja noted that House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency owe it a duty to Nigerians as mandated by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to visit some of the critical institutions such as AMCON to review their budget performance within the financial year.

After a grilling session following AMCON 2018 budget performance presentation by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru, the lawmaker, who represents the largest constituency in Imo State reaffirmed the commitment of the House of Representatives to support AMCON recover the huge outstanding debt in the hands of a few recalcitrant obligors.

Providing an insight into how exactly the House of Representatives would aide recovery in the next financial year, Hon. Onyereri said, “As speak to you now, I want to assure you that this committee, which I humbly serve as Chairman would in the next one or two weeks submit the AMCON Amendment Bill to the House of Representatives for the third reading after which it would be moved to the Senate for final delibration. The committee has worked tirelessly to ensure that when the Bill is passed, AMCON will be further empowered to deliver on their mandate.

AMCON he added, remains an interventionist institution of the Federal Government, which falls under the purview of the House Committee’s oversight function. If AMCON is to deliver on their mandate by recovering the over N5.4 trillion outstanding debt, the Corporation will therefore need the support and association of all other government agencies to succeed.

“We have thoroughly reviewed the 2018 budget performance of the corporation vis-à-vis what was approved for them. The committee is satisfied with the performance, which would also help the committee make projections and also provide guidance as the case may be against their 2019 budget.”

As drilling as the session was, Kuru in his remark described the oversight visit by the committee as a good feedback mechanism, which has over the years afforded AMCON the opportunity to rub minds with the legislature as well as draw from the wisdom of the lawmakers to efficiently and effectively pilot the affairs of AMCON.

He, however, assured the lawmakers that the current management of AMCON under his leadership will continually remain prudent just as it would continue to persevere in the face of adversity posed by the difficult socio-political and economic realities in the country.