AMCON: Smear campaign won’t deter us from recovering N455bn debt from Arik, its affiliates

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says smear campaign will not discourage the agency from recovering the N455 billion debt owed by Arik Air and its affiliate companies.

The agency said it has a legal mandate to recover debt and that it will not relinquish the duty.

Speaking during a media luncheon in Lagos on Friday, Jude Nwauzor, head of the corporate communications department at AMCON, said the agency continues to face opposition and skewed narratives from debtors, who are unwilling to pay without a fight.

Nwauzor accused Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, the promoter of Arik Air, and other companies of allegedly sponsoring smear campaigns against the agency and being uncooperative.

“The task of debt recovery has been arduous and challenging. While several thousands of Nigerians and Nigerian companies have honoured their obligations, AMCON continues to face resistance from a number of debtors who are unwilling to pay without a fight,” Nwauzor said.

“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), Ojeimai 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, 772.80 as at December 31, 2024.

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

“The fact of the matter is that no matter the smear campaign he 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, intimidate, and harass our personnel with every arsenal at their disposal.”

In February 2017, Arik Air was taken over by the federal government via AMCON due to the company’s huge debt profile, which was over N300 billion.

Consequently, the government immediately dissolved the airline’s management team and appointed a receiver manager.

There have been a series of legal battles over it due to the takeover

In January, stakeholders of Arik Air faulted the comment of AMCON that Arumemi-Ikhide owes the agency over N445 billion.

The shareholders alleged that the agency mismanaged the airlines it inherited from the carrier over eight years ago.

Recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Ahmed Kuru, a former AMCON managing director; Roy Ilegbodu, managing director of Arik Air; Kamilu Omokide, receiver manager of Arik Air; Union Bank Plc; and Super Bravo Limited, over allegations of fraud.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.

The case stems from a petition filed by Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria, on behalf of Arumemi-Ikhide, the founder of Arik Air, and the airline’s shareholders.

‘ARIK CLAIM OF NON-INDEBTNESS FALSE’

Speaking further, Nwauzor said the claim made by Arumemi-Ikhide that Arik Air never defaulted on its loan payment obligation to Union Bank should be queried.

“Amongst several inaccurate claims, the founder of Arik, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, has consistently peddled a false narrative regarding his debt to AMCON, claiming that Arik never defaulted in its payment obligations to Union Bank and feigning ignorance of the debt owed to AMCON,” he said.

“He has also alleged that the receivership was premature and claimed his loan was performing.

“These claims are misleading. The intelligent public must ask if the loan was performing, why was it sold and restructured? And why did he agree to the restructuring? Did he fulfill the agreed terms?

“The decision to classify the loan as non-performing and to sell it was made by Union Bank of Nigeria PLC (UBN), in accordance with the Prudential Guidelines set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Union Bank willingly offered the Arik loans to AMCON, which purchased the loans in compliance with the law.”

Nwauzor added that AMCON is currently facing over 2,000 cases and that the agency has N2.1 trillion for the federal government since its inception.