The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has sacked the board of directors for the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company(KAEDC), citing inability to settle a debt of N110 billion owed to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
The regulatory agency has consequently appointed Dr. Umar Abubakar Hashidu as the administrator of KAEDC. Also appointed are five special directors including Alex A. Okoh( Chairman) , Kabir Adamu, Sharfuddeen Zubair Mahmoud, John Ayodele and Rahila Thomas.
In an order dated January 1, 2024 and signed by its Chairman and Vice Chairman, Sabusi Garba and Musiliu Oseni, respectively, NERC said the action was also due to the receivership of the company not being able to get a new buyer for the company on time.
It would be recalled that the KAEDC is among five DISCOs that were taken over by their funders after the core investors were unable to pay back the borrowed funds used to acquire the companies during the privatization of power companies in 2013.
According to NERC, the company has been owing N110bn to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trade (NBET) and TCN’s Market Operator (MO) since 2015.
The order stated that the receivership, headed by Afrexim bank, had been given 60 days notice to state why its licence should not be cancelled with another 30 days given in July last year.
It further stated that the bank requested for four to six months to finalise the divestment process and that they could not provide the bank guarantees required to secure KAEDC’s market obligation.
Meanwhile, Hashidu has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer of the firm . He took over from Engr. Yusuf Usman Yahaya who exited last week.
Head of Corporate Communications, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, explained in a statement issued on Monday, said the change of baron took place at a brief handover ceremony at the company’s corporate headquarters in Kaduna and was presided over by Mr. Dafe Okpaneye, the NERC Commissioner for Legal Licensing and Compliance.
At the ceremony which was followed by a short interaction with staff, Mr. Okpaneye thanked the former MD for the work he had put in in the past 18 months to move the company forward. He charged Dr. Hashidu to harness the talents and resources available to him to take Kaduna Electric to greater heights.
In his address to the Executive Management Committee members and staff, Dr. Hashidu urged every staff to look in the mirror and challenge themselves to do better. He stressed his belief in the ability of the management to deliver on the mandate given to it.
