The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has said it has no plan to take over Dangote Refinery over debts owed by the Dangote Group to banks.
According to AMCON; “ I have no business with the group neither Dangote Refinery or the Dangote Group are on our debtors’ list, hence we don’t have plan to take over the assets.”
Some online news platforms had on Tuesday reported that Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, could forfeit the Dangote Refinery over a $7 billion debt burden owed to commercial banks in the country with a possible takeover by AMCON.
Jude Nwauzor, Head of Corporate Communications at AMCON, said that since the Dangote Group is not on its debtors list, the rumour that it was planning to take over the assets of Dangote Refineries is false.
Sources within the Dangote Group who said they are also worried about such report described it as “false and malicious”, stating that the group has the capacity to service and pay its debt.
AMCON had in 2010 purchased 12,743 bad loans worth N3.8 trillion from 22 Eligible Financial Institutions (EFIs) for a purchase price of N1.8 trillion.
According to AMCON, Dangote Refineries was not part of the bad debts that it took over and there was no way it would be taking over the assets of the company now.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had recently approved the acquisition of 20 per cent minority stake by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemical Refinery.
