Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said, Sunday, that the Interim Board has retaken control of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

The BPE Director- General, Mr. Alex Okoh, said in a statement that that Vigeo Holding, the core investors, having defaulted on their loan facilities and having collateralized their controlling shares had lost ownership of the entity.

The D-G in the statement issued on his behalf by Mr. Yunana Malo, Director, Industries & Services, said that despite the use of non-state actors to disrupt activities of BEDC, the Interim Boad has taken control of the finances of the company.

According to him, “The Interim Board already had financial control of the entity and the usage of non-state actors by the former Board and Managing Director to forcefully disrupt the affairs of the entity was unfortunate.

“The actions if left unchecked risked plunging the citizens of Delta, Edo, Ekiti and Ondo (under the BEDC franchise) into darkness.

“It may be recalled that Vigeo Holding having defaulted on their loan facilities and having collateralized their controlling shares had lost ownership in the entity.”

Mr. Okoh commended the professionalism and actions of the relevant security agencies that supported the operational takeover of the HQ facility in Benin and the reinstatement of operational control of the HQ to the recognized interim Board and Management.

He added that BPE, alongside NERC, would continue to monitor the DiSCO and work with the Ministry of Power and relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure no disruptions to service occur and that the interim Board and Management are allowed to proceed with their work unimpeded.

Restructuring action had been announced on July 5th, 2022 by BPE and NERC for the Kano, Kaduna, Benin and Ibadan DiSCO franchises with the banks that gave the core investors stepping in to the Board and the appointment of an interim Management by BPE and NERC to stabilize the entities and avert any operational issues arising.

While the restructuring action in Kano, Kaduna and Ibadan took place peacefully, the Benin DiSCO restructuring had faced disruptions by the investors that were exited.