The Federal Government has assures electricity consumers in the country that the recent changes in the governance of the DisCos would not adversely impact on the ongoing reform initiatives including the National Mass Metering Program.
The government also said it owns 40% equity stake in all the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in the country.
Minister of Power Engineer Abubakar Aliyu,who gave the clarifications in a statement,disclosed that he had been briefed by Nigerian Electric Regulatory Commission (“NERC”) and Bureau of Public Enterprise (“BPE”) on the recent events relating to corporate governance in Kano, Benin, Kaduna, Ibadan and Port Harcourt electricity distribution companies (“DisCos”) necessitating a change in the respective Board of Directors and Management.
He explained that the changes announced were as a result of the receivership of the core investors in Kano, Benin, Kaduna and Ibadan DisCos whereas the actions in Port Harcourt are sought to provide much needed liquidity and prevent the insolvency and risk of collapse of the utility.
The Ministry,he promised, shall ensure that the changes in corporate governance do not impact on the service and stability of the power distribution companies.
He added:“We wish to reaffirm that while the government continue to hold a 40% equity stake in all the DisCos, the utilities are still private sector led “going concerns” falling under the provisions of the Companies And Allied Matters Act(CAMA) and subject to regulation by NERC.
“The Ministry has received a confirmation from the BPE and the Central Bank of Nigeria that in exercising the rights of lenders to the core investors, the financial institutions do not retain the ownership of the shares and management of the DisCos in perpetuity.It is therefore expected that clear timelines for exit of the banks would be prescribed by the regulators as and when appropriate”