Immediate past governor of Kwara state, Alhaji AbdulfatahAhmed, has reacted to the seizure of his property by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).
He said the reported takeover of his Ilorin property by AMCON was unnecessary and overzealous as there are ongoing talks to resolve previous transactions with two defunct banks.
In a statement by his media aide, Wahab Oba, Ahmed clarified 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.”
Reacting to a viral video depicting the takeover of his residence, Ahmed explained that “the banks held the shares as collateral to sell and recover the loans in the event of a default.
“The banks passed the loans to AMCON instead of selling the shares to recover the loan amount”.
Ahmed said he was in talks with AMCON to separate the liabilities before the purported takeover of his house despite knowing the loan amount was in dispute and that reconciliation talks were ongoing.
The statement quoted the former governor to have given “a firm commitment to meet any outstanding obligations once the loans were disaggregated”.