Banks holding majority stakes in six electricity distribution companies (DisCos) yesterday got a marching order from the Federal Government to divest within 12 months.
Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, who gave the ultimatum, said the government was monitoring the operations and divestment process of the six DisCos to ensure compliance with the core objectives of restructuring the power firms.
He said the banks have been mandated to find serious investors to sell their 60 per cent equity in the Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Benin, Ibadan and Port Harcourt DisCos.
Aliyu spoke in Abuja at the 11th edition of the ‘PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)’ organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.
He said the government sacked the previous core investors to make them more responsible, adding that the government was determined to put the DisCos on their feet.
According to him, restructuring of the six Discos included the sacking of the previous core investors due to poor performance and the composition of a new board and management to run them.
The minister said: “For the benefit of the doubt when I say we have restructured the Discos this is just saying it mildly.
“Restructuring means that we have sacked the core investors. We have sacked the management and allowed the lenders to take over.
“Either banks or the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) hold the franchise.
“So the banks have taken over 60 per cent ownership. We have allowed the banks, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take control.
“The lenders provided the chairmanship of the Discos. The BPE provided part of the management, including the managing directors and then the CBN provided the chief financial officer (CFO) and the auditor.
“So this is the position we are now with the six discos. They are Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Benin, Ibadan and Port Harcourt. One may ask why only six? What about the rest?
“You know we have 11 of them. Three out of the 11 Discos are performing well, that is two in Lagos and one in Enugu. They are not doing badly.
“Jos Disco was re-concessioned in 2022 and Yola was re-concessioned last year. These two Discos are working very hard to improve. So we have to give time to settle down.
“In a way, we have restructured the whole of the 11 discos in one way or the other. Now, it is to help them since we have made them more responsible.
“We are trying to help them to get on their feet.”