President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday dissolved the management team of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) led by Mustafa Chike-Obi and appointed Ahmed Lawan Kuru as the new Managing Director.
A statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President Mr. Femi Adesina, announced a new management team for the corporation. The new team is led by Ahmed Lawan Kuru – Managing Director, Kola Ayeye – Executive Director, Eberechukwu Uneze – Executive Director, and Aminu Ismail – Executive Director. Apart from Chike-Obi, other members of the sacked team are: Mofoluke Benedicta Dosunmu, Heweth Adegboyega Benson and Abbass Mohammed Jega
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Kuru was the Group Managing Director of Enterprise Bank Limited. He started his banking career with the old Habib Bank in 1985 and rose through the ranks to become an Executive Director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank) in 2005.
The appointment of Mr. Kuru and the three AMCON Executive Directors, the statement said, is with effect from yesterday. AMCON was established under the AMCON Act 2010 to resolve the issue of non-performing loan assets in the banking sector. It currently has over 12,000 bad loans in its portfolio and has continued to pursue the recovery of the debts. It has sold bonds worth over N4.7 trillion in the course of its operation.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last November, asked the Federal Government to phase out the activities of AMCON. “Ongoing initiatives to strengthen the supervisory framework, including supervision of banking groups, should continue, and AMCON’s activities phased out gradually,” Mr. Gene Leon, the Fund’s Mission Chief and Senior Resident Representative in Nigeria said.
