Among the ten Banks, only three – Mainstreet Bank, Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank – were unable to still meet up and were finally acquired and tagged as Bridged Banks. The original book value of the acquired non-performing loans was put at ₦4.02 trillion at a price of₦1.76 trillion, with a commensurate issue of zero bond for the non-performing loans acquired.

By virtue of the introduction of this novel idea, not only was bank failure largely averted, a number of bank workers kept their jobs and depositors funds were fully secured, with only the shareholders losing their investments, as the share capitals had been wiped off by the virtue of the exposures.

Before long, it became apparent that acquiring the non-performing loans, at a discount rate, from the banks was the easy part. To get the debtors to fulfil their obligations to AMCON has become very difficult, with all manner of tricks and shenanigans being employed to frustrate the repayment process. Today, AMCON says it is being owed over N4.5 trillion by about 400 obligors when the 2016 budget itself is only all of N6 trillion!

So, in the Silverbird matter, AMCON is not doing anything new or beyond its brief. It has done so many things to make defaulters fulfil their obligations without success. It has published a list of defaulters in many newspapers in a bid to shame them into fulfilling their obligations, yet without success. AMCON is following laid down procedure in placing these businesses in receivership, as the only other option available to recover public funds tied down by the failure of these people to meet their obligations. This money belongs to the Nigerian people, if we must know. The only thing that has changed is that there is a new Sheriff in town that has given AMCON the free hand to fulfil its mandate, without interference from the top, as was the case in the recent past.

This is not really about Silverbird or Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, but simply about common sense. As it has been canvassed elsewhere, there is a long list of other obligors, which AMCON has moved in on to recover funds from, either through receivership or other lawful means. In spite of the limitation and pace of the judicial process which some are taking advantage of to frustrate the process of recovery, AMCON is doing well in exploring means to recover all that has been committed on behalf of the Nigerian people into these private entities. The gang-up on AMCON either as a result of ignorance or mischief occasioned by politics is completely misguided.

One wishes that AMCON had moved swiftly, in the early years, as it is doing now to take on more of these debtors, but the body language of yesteryears in which those who owe the Nigerian people freely roamed the corridors of power must have made things really difficult. To celebrate a man holding on to N11 billion which ought to be in the public kitty while deriding the efforts to make him pay back is difficult to justify. Common Sense demands that the right thing be done.
Concluded
Simbo Olorunfemi is a Nigerian Communications Consultant. Follow @simboolorunfemi