N5bn debt: AMCON takeover of my residence done out of overzealous — Ahmed

Abdulfatah Ahmed, former governor of Kwara State, has said that the reported take over of his Ilorin property by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), was done out of overzealous as there were ongoing talks to resolve the matter.

NewsBand had reported that AMCON on Wednesday, seized a mansion in Ilorin belonging to the former governor over N5bn debt.

AMCON in a statement said it traced nine other properties belonging to the ex-governor in Kwara, Lagos and Abuja some of which include: houses at 13, Alhaji Masha Road, Surulere; No. 9 Wharf, Apapa, Lagos; Plot 3632, Cadastral Zone E27 of Apo, Abuja; Plot 4115, Cadastral Zone F14 of Bazango, Abuja; Plot 8502, Cadastral Zone E31 of Carraway Dallas, Abuja; and Plot 494, Cadastral Zone E31 of Carraway Dallas, Abuja.

But in a statement made by his media spokesperson, Wahab Oba, which was made available to newsmen on Wednesday, Mr. Ahmed said that the dispute was based on a margin loan he secured from Intercontinental Bank and Finbank in 2009 for the purchase of shares which was then lumped with unrelated loans obtained by others.

He explained that the banks held the shares as collateral to sell and recover the loans in the event of a default.

“Instead, the banks passed the loans to AMCON instead of selling the shares to recover the loan amount,”

Mr. Ahmed further disclosed that he was in talks with AMCON to separate the liabilities before the lawyer’s overzealous conduct despite knowing the loan amount was in dispute and that reconciliation talks were ongoing.

The former governor gave a firm commitment to meet any outstanding obligations once the loans were disaggregated.