Abuja’s most magnificent building has been seized by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria. (AMCON)
The building located at the heart of Maitama district belongs to billionaire business man, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, chairman of AA Group and is one of the several choice properties seized by AMCON after a Supreme Court ruling against the Kogi-born businessman.
Aliyu’s debt was part of the non-performing loans that AMCON bought over from ailing financial institutions and other businesses. AMCON Sources put his debt at N1.9 billion.
Interestingly, the land on which the architectural masterpiece is erected cost the owner about 1billion naira.
In an interview a while back, Aliyu admitted to owning the building which has been a subject of discussion for a while in the Federal Capital.
“This building belongs to me. I bought the land occupying this building around 2005 from one man from Zamfara State. I bought it for N1billion because of the location. Thereafter, a thought came to me. By the way, I am a builder. I specialise in building houses of model quality. Any house I build is usually very special,” he admitted.
It was gathered that after spirited efforts by the corporation to get some of the debtors to work out a workable payment plan failed, the Ahmed Kuru-led new management of AMCON commenced enforcement action against its debtors about three weeks ago.
A judicial source in the know listed the seized properties, located in prime places in the nation’s capital, as “No 32 Mediterranean Street, Maitama, Abuja; No 42, Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja; plot 101, Cadastral ZONE B09, Kado, Abuja; and plot 1189, Cadastral Zone A05, Maitama Abuja.
“Some of the debtors, particularly the big boys, thought it was still business as usual and ignored several demand notices by AMCON for the non-performing loans. That was why the corporation swung into a full loan recovery mode,” the source said.
Aliyu, who trained as a building technologist before venturing into oil business, said that he financed the building from his personal savings, as he did not obtain any mortgage from any bank.