Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria ( AMCON), has stated that selling the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IEDC) to successful investors is the only way to increase its efficiency.

Gbenga Alade, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AMCON, made this announcement on Monday, 26 August 2024, at an interactive meeting with media executives in Lagos.

After taking office five months ago, Alade told reporters, he had looked into a number of topics before AMCON, and the electrical industry was one of them. According to AMCON’s CEO, an economy cannot advance and thrive in the absence of a reliable electricity source. He mentioned that although the company has made an effort to address the problems affecting the IBEDC, the process is still ongoing.

PUNCH recalls that AMCON acquired the IBEDC in January 2022 as a result of its insolvency. This came after a September 2021 court ruling that gave a preservative order in favour of AMCON as the receiver/manager of Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited.

Speaking, Alade revealed that investors with “deep pockets” would purchase the Disco, which AMCON is managing. “We have Ibadan DisCo, which is under AMCON, in the power sector. We’ve made every effort to find a solution. And the process is underway. Although the sale has not yet been completed, we are moving extremely quickly toward resolving Ibadan DisCo,” he stated.

Alade while speaking of the IBEDC’s coverage in several States, including Ogun Industrial areas, expressed optimism that the organization would turn a profit if sold.

“I think Ibadan Disco is the biggest disco we have because it spans numerous states, including Ogun State’s industrial zones. It can be made more efficient, in our opinion, if it is offered to wealthy investors who can make investments rather than to consumers who only purchase things without making any financial decisions. He said, “It will go a long way to helping the power sector with people who have deep pockets to invest in making that company more efficient and effective.”

As previously reported by The Punch, in April, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu issued an order for the sale of discos that banks and the Assets Management Corporation had acquired from their original owners/investors.

At the moment, banks and AMCON are in charge of four discos. Fidelity Bank oversees the Benin, Kaduna, and Kano DisCos, while the United Bank of Africa is in charge of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, aside from the IBEDC. Due to their failure to pay back the loans they received from the financial institutions, the four Discos are now managed by this new management.

The CEO of AMCON stated that the company had finished a power project in Kaduna State, supporting the energy industry. The Kaduna power project, which has been shelved for a few years, was another idea we examined. With the help of God, we were able to sign an MOU with the project participants. That project has already begun work as well,” he asserted.

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