FCT minister Nyesom Wike has advised the management of Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to be firm and decisive in managing bad loans.

Mr Wike gave the advice when AMCON management, led by its CEO, Gbenga Alade, visited him in Abuja on Tuesday.

He noted that people collected all kinds of loans but did not use them for the purpose they were collected, with the expectation that, with time, the loans would be written off.

“In governance, you must step on toes. It is not about friendship. When things are not right, things are not right. So, you require tough management. You require tough leadership to say no, enough is enough.

“You may not be right all the time. You must take a decision and be firm. That is the only way this country can survive,” the minister said.

Mr Wike said President Bola Tinubu appointed Mr Alade as head of AMCON to solve company’s challenges. He urged the AMCON boss to see his appointment as an opportunity to demonstrate capacity and make a difference.

The minister noted that people view actions taken by leaders through the lens of ethnicity and religion instead of the purpose and the merit of such actions.

Citing land administration in Abuja as an example, Mr Wike said, “People think that when you are appointed as a minister, you are coming to share land and no other job – no education, no infrastructure, no health.

“You come to office, and everybody lands, land, land, land, land and nothing more, and when you want to make changes, it becomes a problem and tag it to religion and ethnicity. But somebody has to take the bull by the horns. That is what leadership is about.”

He promised AMCON of FCTA’s support to succeed, stressing the need for government agencies to work together to achieve common goals.

Mr Alade explained that although the company has existed for 14 years, “it is still battling a lot of powerful and influential debtors who have refused to pay.”

(NAN)