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Controversial oil magnate, Femi Otedola, has paid off his N141 billion loan to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
AMCON’s Managing Director, Mustapha Chike-Obi who made this disclosure, said Otedola made the payment last thursday.
Otedola and his companies were the biggest debtors in the country, according to information released from the Central Bank of Nigeria last month.
The billionaire businessman had borrowed N192.4 billion from several top-tier banks over the years.
However a turn in the business fortunes of Mr. Otedola caused him to sustain heavy losses which caused a serious problem with him and the banks, particularly Access Bank. Zenith Bank also called in a mortgage on Stallion House to settle the debts Mr. Otedola owed.
Despite that, AMCON still bought the loans from the banks for N141 billion, at a discount of over N50 billion.
Details are yet to emerge on how Mr. Otedola paid his loan and AMCON is not forthcoming with the details, despite the fact that AMCON is a public institution.
Chike-Obi said Otedola’s debts were paid off in full last Thursday when the board of AMCON approved the transfer of Otedola’s assets and an undisclosed sum of cash.
Obi said, “This is a positive development as the settlement by the biggest debtor to AMCON showed that there are no sacred cows because even a prominent businessman like Otedola has come out to settle.”
Analysts are skeptical of the entire deal saying it was just a ploy by Mr. Otedola andthose for whom he holds fort to borrow more money from banks in order to support their recent acquisition of Geregu power plant
Source Pointblanknews.com
