President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been called upon to order the immediate probe of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on the sale of public assets.
The National Coordinator, Danesi Momoh, of the Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, Mr Danesi Momoh at a press conference in Abuja alleged that AMCON under Mr Ahmed Kuru has not been able to account for the assets.
The group argued that it is unconscionable that while many Nigerians live in penury, and most young people are apprehensive of their future, a few fortunate persons who made it into strategic government offices fritter and corner public resources through fraudulent schemes.
The group referred to the fraudulent take over of Polaris, Keystone and Union using public funds of N25 billion which was round tripped and ended with Riverbank Sigma Golf Consortium as one of its grouses with the AMCON management.
“It is an agency whose activities should concern all us. And we demand an immediate, open review of its activities. We are certain of the can of worms that will be opened if a fair investigation is conducted,” the group noted.
“These remain allegations, but we believe that there are a lot of substance in the report. As usual, he has not refuted them. Perhaps, it is obligors or some other imaginary opposition that are selling public assets secretly and at undervalued prices.
“We have been calling the attention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the allegations of the stench caused by corruption in Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria under the headship of Ahmed Kuru.
“Allegations of selling public assets to himself (using fronts) and cronies at grossly undervalued prices have trailed Kuru and the agency since the era of President Muhammadu Buhari. And these allegations have remained empirically unrefuted.
“These assets which are given away to self, close friends and powerful individuals have been termed largesse by commentators because those are what they are. There is no modicum of transparency in the sale of assets managed by AMCON. There is none at all. The public is never involved. So, how can an agency that manages public property operate like a secret cult?
“There is something socioeconomically sinister about the agency. And it is up to Mr. President to address it if he wishes to be trusted with his claim to the enthronement of transparency and accountability.
“We once wrote to Buhari over the matter. But we did it only for record purposes, since we knew that his administration allowed public officials to get away with any crime, except when the official is not protected by any of the power cartels that operated. But at least we did, though we expected nothing. We were sad, but not disappointed.”
