AMCON: Hotel boss denies ownership by Kashamu

The Group Managing Director of Suru Worldwide Ventures Nigeria Limited, and owner of Best Western Hotel, Mr Edward Akinlade , has dismissed media reports linking ownership of the hotel to Senator Buruji Kashamu, adding that he has never met the Nigerian senator.

He described the story as damaging and mischievous at a press conference in Lagos recently.

It will be recalled that some leading Nigerian newspapers had reported that Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had taken over Best Western Hotel, stating that it was owned by Nigerian Senator, Buruji Kashamu, following alleged invasion of the hotel by security agents, thugs and AMCON officials recently in Lagos over alleged non-performing loan.

According to AMCON, it acted according to a court order on August 4, 2017, granted by Justice M. B. Idris, which confirmed that the corporation sued the Inspector General of Police, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Lagos State Commandant of the Corps as defendants, which gave it as a government-owned agency the mandate to take over the alleged non-performing loan.

Reacting to the claim by AMCON, Akinlade faulted the claim, accusing it of being clever by half.” They obtained a judgment without joining the company as a party, or giving any notice of the pending suit to the company. When they came, I told them they would
have to kill me to take over this place because they have not appealed the ruling of the high court that barred them from invading this place,‘’ he said.

Akinlade said AMCON took over the company’s performing loan in Oceanic bank in 2011 – a development that provoked his company to slam a N39b suit on Oceanic bank, as, according to him, AMCON can only take over a non-performing loan. He added that the loan was sold to AMCON at N8b by Oceanic Bank at a time records showed that his company had paid over N700 million, indicating that he had not defaulted.

Ladesope Ladelokun