PAN, Kaduna

By Daniels Ekugo

The management of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has reiterated that its divestment in PAN Nigeria Limited remains an ongoing process, which would be made public when the process is completed.

AMCON’s reaction is coming on the heels of claims by the representative of Peugeot Automobile France in Nigeria, Mr. Eric Maydiey, that the unnecessary delay by AMCON to name a winner in the bid for Kaduna based PAN Nigeria Limited, is the reason a Joint Venture is pushing to build another auto plant and abandon its bid for PAN Nigeria Limited.

In a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communication of AMCON, Mr. Jude Nwauzor, AMCON stated that “no amount of manipulation will derail the good intentions of AMCON in delivering on its recovery mandate. We therefore want the public to ignore the false alarm and misleading comments from the so-called representative of Peugeot Automobile of France in Nigeria regarding our on-going divestment plan for PAN Nigeria Limited, Kaduna”.

Maydiey’s rejoinder, a company advertised for interested companies to bid for the building of a modern Peugeot Auto plant in Dutse, a village in Kaduna state on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway.

However, AMCON said “If another automobile plants berths in Kaduna State, we are sure the state would be better off for it because more jobs will be created and the economy of the state will be buoyed the more in the long run”.

The AMCON’s statement stated further that “we want the public to know that in as much as we do not recognize Mr. Maydiey as the spokesperson for the said company, his claim that AMCON has a 52m Euros bid before it from the company is not factual, remains a bare-faced lie, which is orchestrated therefore to mislead both the general public and stakeholders.

“As an institution that was set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria to stabilize the financial sector thereby helping to support and help revitalize ailing industries in the country, we note with sadness that after being in Nigeria for over 40 years, a senior representative of Peugeot Automobile France is still talking about building a Complete Knock-Down (CKD) and Semi-Knock Down (SKD) as if that is all Nigeria is good for.

“We believe that the Nigerian economy is big enough for a full-fledged car manufacturing plants that would make it possible for Nigerians to drive brand-new and affordable cars that are fully manufactured in Nigeria. Let Mr. Maydiey explain Peugeot France’s over 40 years stewardship, which they now claim they finally want to replicate through a new investor without any indication for value addition, rather than creating a dumping ground and frustrating local content.

“Having said that, AMCON is also in the forefront of attracting investors both foreign and local into the country because we know what that can do to a growing economy like ours. As a Corporation, we have a variety of assets for sale and investor consideration in different sectors; from automobile to oil and gas; real estate to manufacturing, maritime and aviation amongst others. Nigeria is a big market and we encourage all genuine and long-term investors to come into Nigeria”.