AEDC Gets New Management Team 24 Hours After UBA Ownership Take-Over

Twenty four hours after the United Bank for Africa took over the ownership of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, a new management team has been appointed by the Bureau of Public Enterprises for the company.

The BPE gave the name of members of the interim management team to include Bada Akinwumi, as Managing Director; Sani Usman, chief business officer; Babajide Ibironke, chief finance officer; Donald Etim, chief marketing officer; and Femi Zacchaeus, chief technical officer.

The BPE said in a statement issued in Abuja that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had already approved the appointment of the interim management team for the power company.

THE WHISTLER had reported that the Federal Government had approved the take-over of the majority shares of Abuja Electric Distribution Company by the United Bank for Africa over the inability of the company to service the N20bn loan taken from the bank during the
privatisation process in 2013

The AEDC is the licensed utility that serves end-use electricity customers in Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger states and the Federal Capital Territory.

There had been an ongoing dispute among competing factions of the AEDC’s majority shareholder/core investor Kann Utility Company Limited.

This dispute had spilled over to a major crisis which made UBA to provide the acquisition loan to Kann for the acquisition of majority shares during the privatisation exercise in 2013

During the course of the intractable crisis, the AEDC not only struggled to meet its obligations to the market under the terms and conditions of its licence but was also unable to meet its obligations to key stakeholders in the organisation including staff.

The development culminated in the industrial action by members of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees which resulted in a total service disruption on December 6, 2021 for over 14 hours in the AEDC’s network area.

In approving the appointment of the new interim management for the AEDC, the BPE quoted the Chairman, NERC, Sanusi Garba, as saying that “It (the approval) is pursuant to the earlier fit and proper review of your (BPE’s) pool of nominees and in the context of business continuity framework of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.”