NERC dissolves Kaduna Electricity Distribution company board of directors

NERC dissolves Kaduna Electricity Distribution company board over ₦110bn debt

News Agency Of Nigeria

January 9, 2024 9:13 AM

The dissolution followed KAEDC inability to pay ₦110 billion debt owed the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

NERC dissolves Kaduna Electricity Distribution company board over ₦110bn debt(BusinessDay)

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), on Monday dissolved the Board of Directors of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDC).

The dissolution followed KAEDC inability to pay ₦110 billion debt owed the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). The Commission said this in a document jointly signed by its Chairman, Sanusi Garba and Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni.

According to the document, the receivership of the company not being able to get a new buyer of the company on time necessitated the dissolution. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that KAEDC is among the five Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) that were taken over by their funders.

This was after the core investors were unable to pay back the borrowed funds used to acquire the company during privatisation in 2013. Following the development, the Managing Director of the company, Yusuf Yahaya announced his resignation from the company on Saturday.

The commission in the document announcing the dissolution, said that the company was owing the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN’s) Market Operator (MO) ₦110 billion from 2015 till date.

The document said that the receivership, headed by Afrexim Bank, had been given 60 days notice to state why its licence should not be revoked after the initial 30 days given in July 2023. It said that the bank requested for four to six months to finalise the divestment process, adding that the company could not provide the bank guarantees required to secure KAEDC’s market obligation.

According to the document, the failure of the company to get new owners to enable it meet up with its financial obligations will cause the directors their job.

“All directors of KAEDC are hereby removed from office and the board of directors stands dissolved in the exercise of powers vested in the commission by Section 75 of the Electricity Act (EA).

”To this effect, Mr Umar Hashidu is hereby appointed as the administrator of KAEDC in furtherance of section 75 of the EA.

“The administrator shall be the de facto Chief Executive Officer of KAEDC and shall be responsible for the management of the day- to-day affairs of the utility pending the finalisation of the sale of the undertaking to a new core investor,” it said.

The commission said that the administrator shall work with a team of special directors that would constitute non- executive directors of the board for governance purposes. It listed those appointed as special directors for KAEDC to include Alex Okoh, Chairman; Kabir Adamu, Sharfuddeen Mahmoud, John Ayodele and Rahila Thomas.

The commission said that the executive management team shall work with the administrator that would be constituted by NERC and announced in due course.

“The commission shall administer the sale of the undertaking in accordance with the provisions of the EA on the basis of the highest and best price offered for the undertaking."

News Agency Of Nigeria