THE ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION OF NIGERIA ACT 2010 AS AMENDED AND THE NEW PARADIGM FOR WINDING UP AND BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS AS TOOLS FOR DEBT RECOVERY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Debt repayment is the major objective of lending with debt recovery as the fail-safe for ensuring repayment. Among the various recovery mechanisms open to creditors are winding up and bankruptcy, which had over the years made them become less attractive to creditors as tools for debt recovery due to the complex and cumbersome legal process. The 2019 amendment to the AMCON Act introduced a different regime for winding up and bankruptcy proceedings. This article examined the legal framework for winding up and bankruptcy under the AMCON Act and their impacts on AMCON debt recovery. The article employed the doctrinal method to evaluate the legal regime established by the AMCON Act. It observed that while the AMCON Act made no significant alteration to winding up proceedings under the general framework, it fundamentally revolutionized bankruptcy proceedings by making it a formidable debt recovery mechanism albeit for only AMCON debts. It concludes that it is imperative for a more elaborate and efficient procedure for winding up through amendment of the AMCON Act, but advocating the adoption of the AMCON model with regards to bankruptcy to have general application in Nigeria.