From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has said the recently constituted interim governing board of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) was not done based on the Federal Government directive, but hinged on sound legal processes. The two regulatory bodies in a joint statement said the legal processes arose from the failure of the core investor in AEDC to meet its obligations to a lender, adding that the government remains committed to ongoing initiatives on recovery of the electricity sector.
The statement signed by the NERC’s Chairman, Sanusi Garba and BPE’s Director General, Alex Okoh, said government’s attention was drawn to misrepresentation in some quarters leading to the change in composition of the board at AEDC. The statement explained that there has been an ongoing dispute amongst competing factions of AEDC’s majority shareholder/core investor (KANN Utility Company Limited) which spilled over with the lender that provided the acquisition loan to KANN. It noted that during the crisis, AEDC not only struggled to meet its obligations to the market under the terms and conditions of its license but was also unable to meet its obligations to key stakeholders in the organisation including staff which culminated in the industrial action by members of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and this resulted in a total service disruption for over 14 hours in AEDC’s network area on December 6, 2021.
“The general public should note that arising from KANN’s inability to service its acquisition loan and the ensuing dispute over the servicing of loan from UBA Plc, the lender exercised its rights in appointing a Receiver/Manager over KANN”, the statement said.
Meanwhile, following the sack of the erstwhile board of the Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) Plc, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on Thursday, unveiled members of the interim management team for the embattled outfit.
The new team include, Bada Akinwumi- Interim Managing Director; Sani Usman- Interim Chief Business Officer; Babajide Ibironke- Interim Chief Finance Officer; Donald Etim- Interim Chief Marketing Officer; and Femi Zachaeus-Interim Chief Technical Officer.
Already, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the regulator in the power sector has approved the appointment of the interim management team for the power company.