Silverbird Group Shut Over Alleged Unpaid Debts

Nigerian media, entertainment
and real estate firm the Silverbird Group has been shut, its founder and owner confirmed, yesterday, amid reports it defaulted on $38 million in debts.
Silverbird Television and its sister radio station Rhythm 93.7 FM have been off air since early yesterday while its cinema galleries and shopping malls it operated in Lagos and Abuja were also closed.
The action was reportedly taken by the state-run Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which deals in the recovery of bad debts.
Sources confirmed that possession of the group’s properties was taken following a court order.
Group companies defaulted on repayment of debts of 11 billion naira ($38 million, €34 million), the publication added.
Bola Salako, of the Silverbird Communications division, told AFP: “We have some issues which we are addressing. I can assure you that we will soon be back on air.”
Group Founder and Chairman, Ben Murray-Bruce, then wrote on his Facebook page and Twitter account: “I have been on an international flight and have only just landed.
“The situation is being resolved and things will be back to normal,” he added, saying that all companies face challenges.
“Tough times don’t last. But we, as tough people, outlast them,” he wrote.
Businesses in Nigeria have been hit hard by the global fall in oil prices since mid-2014, weakening the naira currency, causing foreign exchange shortages and sending inflation spiralling.
Ordinary Nigerians have been forced to tighten their belts, as the cost of living has soared. Murray-Bruce, a senator who represents the southern oil-rich state of Bayelsa in the national assembly, established the Silverbird Group in 1980.