By Pascal Oparada
Nigerian ex-international footballer, Nwankwo Kanu, is in tears as Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has begun renovating The Hardley Apartments located at Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Victoria Island in Lagos belonging to him.
The Apartment has been a subject of contention due to a transaction default with Skye Bank, now Polaris Bank since it was seized by AMCON in 2015. The last hearing came up in November 2018 after which the case was adjourned till 31 January 2019.
Kanu caught a pitiable sight when he arrived from London where he spent the Christmas holiday to meet construction work going in the disputed Apartment.
He told TheCable that he almost did not recognise the hotel as belong to him when he came.
“It was a rude shock to me,” told TheCable.
“I almost couldn’t recognize the hotel as belonging to me anymore. This is the saddest day of my life as I cannot understand why this happens to me when the matter has yet to be settled in court.
The former Nigerian midfielder said he was mostly pained because most of the medals he won as a footballer have been carted away by vandals.
“All the medals I have earned, in addition to the Olympic torch that I cherished are all gone and I don’t even know whom to ask for all these prized assets,” He said.
Kanu lamented the effect the seizure of the hotel has had on his pet project, Kanu Heart Foundation, saying that since 2016 the Foundation has stopped further treatment of children with heart conditions because he could no longer raise the required money.
“Even cars and buses belonging to the hotel can no longer be found and I wonder where they could have been moved to without my knowledge,”
“We have used proceeds from the hotel business to effect treatment for the patients over the years and now we are being forced to seek funds elsewhere, a situation that has stalled the treatment considerably especially since 2016.”
Kanu said he felt betrayed because that is not the way to repay him after his service to the country through football.
A source at AMCON told TheNiche that the Corporation is undertaking massive renovations of seized properties from loan defaulters in order to make them attractive to new buyers.
“Most of the properties are in deplorable condition and no buyer would want to pay good money with them looking so decrepit,” the source said.
Asked why AMCON takes over properties which are still in contention in the court, the source said the properties would eventually belong to AMCON, so the earlier the reconstructions began the better for the Corporation.