AMCON in Search of Investors to Buy Nigerian Electricity Company
- Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria said Ibadan DisCo will be profitable when sound buyer shows interest
- The corporation said the move is important to achieve a reliable electricity source for the economy to advance and thrive
- It added that while the company has made an attempt, the process is still ongoing to address the issues affecting the IBEDC
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has stated that the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company can only become more efficient if it is sold to viable investors.
Source: Getty Images
Gbenga Alade, the managing director and chief executive officer of AMCON, made this announcement on Monday, August 26, at an interactive meeting with media executives in Lagos.
Speaking to reporters, Alade stated that he evaluated the issues before AMCON shortly after taking office and identified the power industry as one that needs intervention.
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The AMCON head maintained that without a reliable electricity source, no economy can advance and thrive.
He mentioned that although the company has made an effort to address the problems affecting the IBEDC, the process is still ongoing.
Earlier in January 2022, AMCON acquired the IBEDC as a result of its insolvency.
This followed a court ruling in September 2021, which granted AMCON the role of receiver/manager of Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited and issued preservation orders.
Alade revealed that investors with "deep pockets" would purchase the Disco, which AMCON is managing.
“In the power sector, we have Ibadan DisCo, which is under AMCON. We’ve tried as much as possible to get that resolved. And we’re in the process. We are yet to conclude the sale, but we are making very good headway in resolving Ibadan DisCo,” he said.
Alade said that the IBEDC encompasses several states, including Ogun industrial areas, and expressed confidence that it would be profitable if sold.
In April, Adebayo Adelabu, the minister of power, issued an order for the sale of discos whose original owners and investors had been taken over by banks and the Assets Management Corporation.
At the moment, AMCON and the banks are in charge of four discos.
Apart from the IBEDC, the United Bank of Africa oversees the management of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, while Fidelity Bank is in charge of the Benin, Kaduna, and Kano DisCos.
Due to their incapacity to pay back the loans they received from the financial institutions, the four Discos are now managed by these new people.
The AMCON CEO mentioned that the company had finished a power project in Kaduna state, which will support the power industry.
“We also looked at the Kaduna power project as well, which has been abandoned for a few years. By God’s grace, we were able to sign an MoU with the project people. Work has already started on that project as well,” he maintained.
Nigeria gets US investor for electricity project
Legit.ng previously reported that to guarantee Nigeria's commitment to electrical sector reforms, market openness, liquidity, and expanding access to cheap power, the federal ministry of power and the US agency for international development signed a memorandum of agreement on Wednesday, July 10.
This was declared by both parties in a statement released by the ministry of power in Abuja as reported by The Punch.
The MOU aims to support the implementation of a N115.2 billion US government grant-funded technical assistance program intended to support power sector development and reforms in Nigeria.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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