The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria said it has recovered over N2.1tn in debts despite its challenges since inception.

It also stated that the corporation currently has over 2,000 cases in court, as some of AMCON’s debtors owe nearly N5tn, adding that the debtors who borrow these monies do not use it for the purpose for which the money was borrowed.

This was disclosed in Lagos during a press conference by the agency’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Jude  Nwauzor.

He said the conference was organised to address the indebtedness of Arik Air Limited (in Receivership) and its owner, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, to AMCON.

AMCON reaffirmed its commitment to recovering the N227.6bn owed by Arik Air Limited (in Receivership) and its founder, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, amid ongoing legal battles and allegations of mismanagement.

According to Nwauzor, “at AMCON, we see the Media as very strategic to our recovery mandate because most of these obligors run to the media with some skewed narratives in their desperation to make AMCON look bad.

“The point remains that these are debtors who have contributed to killing the Nigerian economy. The media must not allow them to eat their cake and have it.”

He said AMCON’s management is convinced that a deeper collaboration between AMCON and the media will deliver positive dividends for the country.

Nwauzor said that while several thousands of Nigerians and Nigerian companies have honoured their obligations, AMCON  has continued to face resistance from a number of debtors who are unwilling to pay without a fight.

According to him, one of these debtors is Arik Air Limited (in Receivership), an airline company owned by Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, who is also the promoter of Rockson Nigeria Limited (a power infrastructure company), Ojemai Farms Limited, and Ojemai Investment Limited.

“These companies’ debts were transferred by various banks to AMCON due to their non-performance, with a total indebtedness of N455,171,764,772.80bn as of December 31, 2024.

“Arik owes AMCON N227,637,469,394.34bn; Rockson Engineering N163,502,837,397.75bn and Ojemai Farms N14,031,457,980.71bn,” he said.

Nwauzor said that no matter the smear campaign that the debtor is sponsoring against AMCON, these debts must be recovered one way or the other.

“The leadership of AMCON knows that there is no nice way of recovering debt. For that, obligors go to any length to assassinate the characters of both AMCON staff and management. They malign the name of AMCON and intimidate and harass our personnel with every arsenal at their disposal.

“Repeatedly, AMCON has made the point at every opportunity that all stakeholders, including the media, must view the AMCON mandate as one of serious national importance. If at sunset AMCON is unable to recover the huge debt of over N4tn, it becomes the debt of the Federal Government of Nigeria for which taxpayers’ monies will be used to settle.

“The implication is that the general public will be made to pay for the recklessness of only a few individuals who continue to take advantage of the loopholes in our laws to escape their moral and legal obligations to repay their debts,” he said.