The Federal Government has explained the circumstances surrounding Tuesday’s appointment of an interim management for the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
Minister of Power, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu, said that United Bank for Africa (UBA), as a lender, and in exercising its rights over the shares of KANN Consortium in AEDC, has taken over the shares of the obligor in the AEDC.
Aliyu said that the takeover of the majority stake in AEDC by UBA has consequently led to the reported changes in the management of AEDC.
AEDC franchise areas include the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states.
The minister made the clarification in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.
Aliyu said: “The ministry wishes to notify all stakeholders that the AEDC has, of recent, been facing significant operational challenges arising from a dispute between the core investors (KANN consortium) as owners of 60 per cent equity in AEDC and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) as lenders for the acquisition for the majority shareholding in the public utility.
“The situation has currently deteriorated due to lack of access to intervention finances leading to a point whereby legitimate entitlements of the staff are being owed thus leading to service disruptions on December 6 within its franchise area.”
Aliyu said that the ministry’s engagement with the organised labour had led to the restoring of electricity service to the AEDC franchise areas.
“The changes in shareholding in AEDC and the appointment of an interim management for AEDC by the shareholders has been endorsed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) as co-shareholders in AEDC,” he said.
Aliyu reaffirmed the commitment of the federal government to work with all stakeholders to ensure service continuity in all areas served by the AEDC.
The government had on Tuesday described the non-performance and incompetence of the AEDC as a national embarrassment, saying the suspension of the management team subsists until further notice.
