Stallion Motors denies shutting down operations
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) unconventional interventions like Anchor Borrowers Programme cannot be sustained, economic experts have said. They spoke at the Economic and Business Strategies’ 6th quarterly Refined Economic Development (RED) lecture entitled, “The role of monetary policy in a slow growth economy” in Abuja yesterday.
Unless the CBN changes it strategy, the country will continue to witness slow economic growth, according to the experts who spoke as panelists at the event.
An Abuja-based financial inclusion specialist, Mr Tiko Okoye said the CBN’s efforts at stabilising the foreign exchange and controlling inflation will come to nought if the production sector of the economy is neglected.
“No matter the amount of monetary policy the CBN applies to control inflation, it will not work without growing the real sector,” Okoye said.
Similarly, a lecturer at University of Abuja, Prof. Mutiullah Olasupo said the CBN should increase its intervention on the production sector of the economy.
He also urged the Federal Government to sustain the border closure to regulate what comes in and what goes out of the country.
Speaking on the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme, another lecturer at the University of Abuja, Prof. Akeem Oyerinde said the programme was only benefiting “portfolio farmers” who weren’t adding any value to the economy.
But a former Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Magnus Kpakol said the CBN’s policies helped the country out of recession, and they could be sustained.
Prof Kpakol who is the Chairman of EBS said if not for the “unconventional” approaches taken by the CBN, the Nigeria’s economy would have gone into a terrible mess two years ago.
Stallion Group, a conglomerate operating in different sectors of the Nigerian economy, has refuted news of the shutting down of its operations. The company said its operations continue unhindered in spite of a court judgment arising from company’s indebtedness to Nigerian Banks and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.
Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had refuted report in some quarters that it had taken over the company.
The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Anant Badjatya said the news that it has shut down operations is completely baseless and false.
According to the statement, “a few of the rented & leased properties were affected because of the court’s ex parte order, which was done without any notice. We are unable to comment further on this as the matter is sub judice. Stallion’s legal team has appropriately taken it up with the judiciary.
“The company has banking lines with local banks for regular business operations like all other major conglomerates in Nigeria and clarifies that it does not owe N330Bn to the banks as specified by the media. On the contrary the organisation enjoys a very good customer loyalty across businesses and has a sound financial position with more than N750bn in assets with approximately N150bn liabilities, most of which is a receivable from Federal Government, which translates into a very healthy debt to equity ratio,” the statement explained.
“The published news articles as well as WhatsApp messages being circulated around are fake news being stirred up by business rivals. The entire incident started when a few of the Stallion showrooms in Victoria Island were sealed off on Tuesday 10th December as a result of ex parte order and this fuelled the media and public speculation. No other properties have been affected anywhere else in the country. Furthermore, some locations which were sealed off in VI are now open and working,” the statement further clarified.