By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the nominations of Mr. Ahmed Lawan Kuru and Bello Hassan as Managing Directors of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigerian and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, respectively.
The confirmation of both nominees followed consideration of two separate reports of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.
Also confirmed are Ebelechukwu F. Uneze and Aminu Ismail as Executive Directors of AMCON; and Muhammad Ibrahim as Executive Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Uba Sani (APC – Kaduna Central), in his presentation, said Mr. Kuru was confirmed as the Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria in 2015, adding that, “the Corporation saw tremendous and tangible transformation and performance in effectively discharging its mandate during his first tenure through the introduction of new policies and frameworks.”
“Strategically under his leadership, AMCON partnered with investors and operators for value-enhanced exit of its portfolio companies as well as the introduction and implementation of the Asset Management Partners (AMP) scheme to assist with the resolution of small loans which in turn created over 3000 jobs both directly and indirectly.
“He also championed the creation of the Asset Tracing Unit which has led to more extensive discovery of assets and subsequent recovery of indebtedness while simultaneously having proactive negotiations with debt holders to achieve prompt and optimal settlements,” the lawmaker said.
Sani noted that the re-appointments of the AMCON nominees are in accordance with the provisions of Section 10(3)(a)and(b) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria; and their nomination for a second and final tenure of five (5) as enshrined in the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Act, 2010 (as amended).
The lawmaker, in a another presentation, said prior to the appointment of Bello Hassan as Managing Director of the NDIC, the nominee represented the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the Governing Board of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and had participated in various committees that produced key supervisory guidelines and templates for the Nigerian Financial System.