Donald Duke, the former Governor of Cross River State, has denied the claim of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) that he owed N537,334,360.77. In a statement made available to the public, Duke made known that he was only owing N350 million, which he had repaid.
According to Duke, AMCON claimed that he owed an extra N137,334,360.77 and when he disputed the figure, the corporation filed a suit against him so as to arm-twist him into paying the disputed sum.
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2019 General Elections, accused AMCON of merely making a “media circus” with the suit.
[READ MORE: UPDATED: Donald Duke reaches agreement with AMCON over N537 million debt]
Donald Duke’s statement read: “Recently, an obligation I had to AMCON has made the news. Whilst I do not understand the excitement this has generated, bearing in mind that debts far in excess of this have not received a whisper, clearly some people are having fun at my expense.
“Nevertheless, I think it appropriate now that the issue has been laid to rest, to state my side of the matter, considering the fervour the story generated.
“AMCON made a claim of N569 million against me which I disputed. I guess to arm-twist me, they proceeded to court and created a media circus. Having done what I consider their worst, I insisted on what I believe is the correct amount. We have since agreed to this amount and the sum of N340 million has been paid.
“I hope this takes the air off the sail of those who made a mountain out of a molehill. There was nothing to be excited about after all.”
Nairametrics reported earlier that Donald Duke had reached an agreement with AMCON over the alleged debt.
Following the settlement, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos discharged its Thursday, August 8, 2019 order, which empowered AMCON to take over an Ikoyi property that belongs to Duke.
Recall that AMCON and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) had on August 8, 2019, moved to claim the Ikoyi property that belongs to Donald Duke following the Federal High court injunction.
[READ ALSO: Opinion: AMCON, Shebah Bank Debt Saga – ABC Orjiako’s Involvement by ThankGod Oghenenyore]
