Senate empowers AMCON in new bill to seize debtors’ assets

The Nigeria’s Senate has passed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Amendment (AMCON) bill after considering the report of its Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions.

The amendment bill  now empowers AMCON to, among others, take possession, manage or sell all assets traced to debtors, whether or not such assets or property are used as security/collateral for obtaining the loan.

The bill also empowers AMCON to access the special tribunal established by the BOFIA, 2020 for dealing with financial related matters.

Senator Uba Sani (APC, Kaduna Central), chairman of the Committee, while presenting the report, said the committee engaged with stakeholders such as AMCON, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

Senator Sani said the stakeholders in their submissions pushed for AMCON to be empowered to take possession, manage, foreclose or sell, transfer, assign or otherwise of property used as security for eligible bank assets among others.

According to him, this would provide for a quicker, easier and legitimate process of assets disposal.

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central), deputy president of the Senate, during the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill,  questioned the rationale behind the recommendation of the committee in clause two, which empowers AMCON to take possession of assets outside of those used as collateral in obtaining a loan request.

Senator Omo-Agege said: “The essence of collateral is that in the event of default, you lose that asset. What I am reading here is that in addition to seizing that asset, they (AMCON) want to go beyond that to every other asset or property that is traceable to the debtor. I think I need some clarifications to that.”

Senator Bassey Akpan (PDP, Akwa-Ibom North-East) added that no creditor should be allowed to go outside the asset presented for the facility.

Senator Adamu Aliero said: “Mr. Chairman, if you can recall, during debate on this bill, senators made it abundantly clear that these debtors are taking government money and they are using it freely and going free, and we need stringent measures to be enforced to recover the money.”

Consequently, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, president of the Senate, called for a voice vote on the contentious clause, which eventually was adopted by the majority.

After the passage of the bill, Senators Bassey Akpan and Chukwuka Utazi, while relying on Point of Order 73, contested Lawan’s ruling by requesting for a division.

Utazi opposed the clause empowering AMCON to take possession of assets traced to debtors, stressing that most of the banks that have those bad debts colluded with the customers in doing that in the first place.

Senator Lawan said: “When we come to legislate, we all come here with a very clear mind; that we are doing this for our country. We don’t have any interest but the national interest. And when the majority of our colleagues here in their judgement feel that this is the right thing to do, that’s the majority view, unless we have any cause to reverse ourselves.

“If the majority of senators say this is what they feel should be done to remedy a situation that requires our attention, I think we should allow that.

“And besides, I believe we had explanations from the committee members who went through all the processes; So, I believe that we should let it go. Let the people go to court to test it, but our hope and desire is for AMCON to be able to recover huge sums of money – trillions that people have taken and now is on the head of Nigerians. And, it is criminal, really. People will consciously take money. I will advise that we stick to our decision.”

Senators Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi South) and Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), then advocated the inclusion of a provision along with the AMCON amendment, to give it priority over any other law that may be used to cite an instance of conflict.

Senator Na’Allah stressed that they have to put a clause to say, ‘notwithstanding the provisions obtained in any other law to enable the law take effect.’

Senator George Thompson Sekibo (PDP, Rivers East), cited the Senate rules, opined that it will be out of order to reconsider any specific question, upon which the Senate has come to a conclusion during the current session, except upon a substantive motion or decision.

Senator Sekibo said “All the discussion we are making on it now is of no value, they are not supposed to be recorded because we have come to a decision on it. It may be wrongly or rightly, but we have ended it.”

The Senate President subsequently ruled in favour of the provision of the Senate Rule cited by Sekibo and the bill was passed.