The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria said on Monday that it had taken over a factory and other assets belonging to Polema Industries Limited and its chief Promoter, Chief Emmanuel Obi, over an indebtedness of over N500m.
The takeover is coming on the order of Hon. Justice F.O.G. Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, Abuja who granted AMCON’s possession of the company and its assets in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/227/2020.
Justice Ogunbanjo also ordered that all the bank accounts of the company as well as that of Chief Obi be frozen.
In compliance with the order, AMCON, through Barr. Chike Adaka of Elite Law, the debt recovery agent, who also received protective orders from the court on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, took effective possession of Polema Industries Limited.
The industries are located at KM 5, Osisioma Industrial Layout, Aba, Abia State; and 32/34 Faulks Road, also in Aba, as well as 31, Okigwe Road in the same city.
In justifying the takeover, AMCON said in a statement that it came to.the realisation that peaceful negotiations with the obligor, which had been going on for a long time, had broken down completely.
The statement, which was signed by the Head, Corporate Communications Department, AMCON, Jude Nwauzor, said the loan was purchased from the defunct FinBank (now First City Monument Bank) in 2011 during the first phase of Eligible Bank Asset purchases.
Since then, AMCON said it had continued to engage the obligor and had extended all sorts of soft landing to enable him to repay the debt as well as continue to run his business all to no avail.
The statement said, “Once an order is issued by the court, AMCON is also mandated to carry out the order, which is what transpired in the case with Polema Industries Limited.
“It is also indicative of the fact that all avenues of a peaceful resolution of the matter has failed.
“The enforcement action against Polema Industries Limited, which is provided for under Section 49-52 of the AMCON Act 2019 as amended, is the fate most recalcitrant obligors face.”
The Corporation said from all indications, the business lull, occasioned by the outbreak of the dreaded Coronavirus, was not deterring it from meeting its operational target for the year, as it had continued to go on rampage with enforcements that were backed by favourable court orders.
In the last few days, the debt recovery agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria had taken possession of properties belonging to Unicorn Place and Leisure Services Limited as well as Doggi Group Limited, over their unwillingness to repay the huge loans owed to the Corporation.
