The Senate on Wednesday passed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Amendment bill.
The passage of the bill followed the consideration and adoption of a report by the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions at plenary on Wednesday.
The amendment empowers AMCON to amongst others take possession, manage or sell all properties traced to debtors, whether or not such assets or property is used as security or collateral for obtaining the loan.
It also empowers the corporation to access a Special Tribunal for dealing with financial related matters.
The Committee Chairman, Sen. Uba Sani (APC-Kaduna), in his presentation said the Committee engaged stakeholders such as AMCON, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
He said the stakeholders in their submissions suggested for AMCON to be empowered to take possession, manage, sell, transfer and assign property used as security for eligible bank assets among others.
This, he said would provide for a quicker, easier and legitimate process of assets disposal.
Deputy President of Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege (APC- Delta), at the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill sought to know the reason 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.
“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, 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,’’ he said.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, however, called for voting on the contentious clause, which eventually was adopted by lawmakers in the majority, following his ruling.
After the passage of the bill, Sen. Bassey Akpan and Chukwuka Utazi, while relying on a Point of Order contested the ruling of the Senate President by requesting for a division.
, The Senate President intervened saying, “when we come to legislate, we all come here with very clear mind, that we are doing this for our country, we don’t have any interest but the national interest.
“And when majority of our colleagues here in their judgment 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 that this is what they feel should be done to remedy a situation that requires our attention, I think we should allow that.
“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 contest 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, Lawan said.
Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC- Kebbi) and Opeyemi Bamidele (APC – Ekiti) called for the inclusion of a proviso amid the AMCON amendment to give it precedent over any other law that may be used to cite an instance of conflict.
“We have to put a clause to say, notwithstanding the provisions obtained in any other law to enable the law take effect,” Na’Allah suggested.
Chukwuka Utazi, on his part, kicked against the clause empowering AMCON to take possession of assets traced to debtors, saying that most of the banks that have bad debts colluded with the customers in the bad debt scenario.
Sen. George Thompson Sekibo (PDP – Rivers), citing the Senate rules said, “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.
“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,” Sekibo said.
The Senate President, thereafter, ruled Sen.
Akpan’s call for a division out of order, against the backdrop of the provision of the Senate Rule cited by Sekibo.
