Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has insisted that the new Board of Directors and Management of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), headed by Henry Ajagbawa, stands.
Gatekeepers News reports that NERC confirmed the legitimacy of the BEDC board in a statement signed on Thursday.
“BEDC is a distribution licensee of NERC and by virtue of powers vested in the commission by the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA), regulatory instruments issued pursuant to EPSRA and the terms and conditions of the licence issued to BEDC. NERC is the primary authority that is vested with powers to statutorily recognise the board and management of BEDC as an operator in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI),” the Commission said.
It stated that the BEDC is a jointly owned venture with Vigeo Power Ltd holding with equity of 60% and 40% being held by BPE on behalf of the Federal and State Governments.
“One of the shareholders in Vigeo Power Ltd, Vigeo Holdings Ltd, subscribed to its shares vide a loan from Fidelity Bank Ltd.
“In the light of a default in servicing the said loan, the bank has exercised its rights to repossess these shares that were provided as security for the acquisition loan”.
“Upon repossession of shares of Vigeo Holdings Ltd by the bank, an application was filed by the Banks and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) with the commission for the approval of an interim board of directors and management for BEDC in compliance with NERC’s business continuity arrangements for licensees.
“The commission reviewed and approved Messrs Henry Ajagbawa, K.C Akuma, Adeola liose, Charles Onwera and Yomi Adeyemi as interim board of directors for BEDC with Mr Henry Ajagbawa as Managing Director.
“The commission notes that the erstwhile management of BEDC challenged the appointments in court after the regulatory and shareholder interventions had been completed.
“The actions taken by the contending parties for the control of BEDC have been primarily unsettling for end-use customers in Edo, Ekiti, Delta and Ondo States that are reasonably concerned about continuity of their service and other NESI stakeholders that are concerned about BEDC’s ability to meet its obligations to the market.
“The commission has a statutory responsibility to the electricity market and this responsibility which is exercised in the public interest outweighs any perceived private interests.”
NERC stressed that “the interim board comprising of Messrs Henry Ajagbawa, K.C Akuma, Adeola ljose, Charles Onwera and Yomi Adeyemi are the only directors of BEDC recognised by the commission.”
“All stakeholders and members of the general public are enjoined to provide the required support to the interim board of directors as they work on ensuring continuity of service to end-use customers in the BEDC network area.”
