The Nigerian government in conjunction with Fidelity Bank and AMCON have taken over the affairs of five electricity distribution companies, also known as DISCOs, over debts owed to Fidelity Bank.
Government took the step to save the companies from
insolvency, among other reasons.
The affected companies are Kano Electricity Distribution
Company (KEDCO), Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Benin
Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Kaduna Electric, and Port Harcourt
Electricity Distribution Company (PHED).
The announcement was precipitated by Fidelity Bank’s
activation of the call on the collaterised shares of KEDCO, BDEC, and Kaduna
Electric.
The companies have failed to repay loans obtained to pay for
assets acquired in the 2013 privatisation exercise.
The statement announcing the restructuring was signed on
Tuesday by the Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission (NERC), Sanusi Garba, and Director-General of the Bureau of Public
Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh.
They added that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria
(AMCON) would be a placeholder board for IBEDC in a temporary capacity while
the PHED undergoes restructuring to prevent its imminent insolvency.
The NREC and BPE chiefs said the new boards for the affected
discos have been approved and the bureau was collaborating with the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Power to ensure no service
disruptions during the transition.
The full statement announcing the restructuring of the
Discos:
RESTRUCTURING OF KANO, BENIN, KADUNA, IBADAN, AND PORT
HARCOURT DISCOs
Today we were informed by Fidelity Bank that they have
activated the call on the collateralized shares of Kano, Benin, and Kaduna (Fidelity
and AFREXIM) DISCOs and that they have initiated action to take over the Boards
of these DISCOs and exercise the rights on the shares.
Fidelity Bank’s action is a contractual and commercial
intervention and is between the Core Investors in the DISCOs and the lender.
BPE is involved because of the 40% shareholding of
Government in the DISCOs. Fidelity Bank has informed us that the new Board
members of the affected DISCOs will be as follows:
– Kano DISCO: Hasan Tukur (Chairman), Nelson Ahaneku (Member),
Engr. Rabiu Suleiman (Member)
– Benin DISCO: KC Akuma (Chairman), Adeola Ijose (Member),
Charles Onwera (Member)
– Kaduna DISCO: Abbas Jega (Chairman), Ameenu Abubakar
(Member), Marlene Ngoyi (Member)
BPE has nominated Bashir Gwandu (Kano), Yomi Adeyemi
(Benin), and Umar Abdullahi (Kaduna) as independent Directors to represent
Government’s 40% interest in the three DISCOs respectively, during this
transition.
We are engaging with the Central Bank of Nigeria (as the
banking sector regulator) to ensure an orderly transition and to ensure that
Fidelity Bank does not hold the DISCOs’ shares in perpetuity.
It is envisaged that the majority interest in the entities
would be sold to capable private sector investors willing and able to
re-capitalize and manage the entities efficiently.
We have also received assurances that Fidelity Bank will
participate fully in all the ongoing market initiatives aimed at improving the
sector (e.g. National Mass Metering Program).
In the interim, NERC and BPE met on an Emergency Basis and
activated the Business Continuity Process and have appointed interim Managing
Directors in the affected DISCOs.
Kano Disco – Ahmad Dangana
Benin Disco – Henry Ajagbawa
Kaduna Disco– Yusuf Usman Yahaya
Also, with the takeover of Ibadan DISCO by AMCON, the BPE
has obtained approval from NERC to appoint Kingsley Achife as the interim
Managing Director.
In a temporary capacity the leadership of AMCON will be a
placeholder Board for the Ibadan franchise (Ahmed Kuru – Chair, Eberechukwu
Uneze – Member, Aminu Ismail – Member). Oluwaseyi Akinwale will represent the
interest of Government on the Board alongside the DG of BPE.
Lastly, we are re-structuring the Management and Board of
Port Harcourt DISCO to forestall the imminent insolvency of the entity.
As a condition for support to the entity to meet its market
obligations, Iboroma Akpana will take over as the Chairman of the Board.
Emmanuel Okotete, Eyo Ekpo, Ismaila Shuaibu and the DG of
BPE will form the interim Board. Mr. Benson Uwheru will take over as the
Managing Director of PHEDC as part of the changes.
Government will support the activation of Emergency funds
through the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Facility to support the
entity while it goes through restructuring and repositioning to serve the
citizens of the franchise area better.
We are working with the Honourable Minister of Power to ensure no service disruptions during these transitions. We remain committed to supporting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry to serve Nigerians better.
Sanusi Garba Alex A. Okoh
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN NERC DIRECTOR GENERAL, BPE
0 comments:
Post a Comment