The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has confirmed the sale of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to new investors for N100bn, amid growing legal disputes.
Speaking during a media parley on Thursday, AMCON’s Managing Director and CEO, Gbenga Alake, revealed that the transaction, part of a broader federal government initiative to privatize five power distribution companies, is already facing resistance.
In April 2024, the federal government announced plans to divest from five DisCos managed by AMCON and commercial banks. These include IBEDC, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Benin DisCo, Kaduna DisCo, and Kano DisCo.
Alake said that although IBEDC had initially been sold before AMCON’s involvement, the agency halted the process, insisting the offer was too low.
“When we came in, the DisCo had already been sold. But we stopped it. We said the price was unacceptable,” Alake explained. “We asked for a new offer, and in the end, we secured almost double the original bid. It was sold for N100bn.”
He added that the deal has sparked multiple legal actions and public criticisms, with various parties now challenging the sale.
“Many interests are fighting us now—writing and going to court,” Alake said. “But we believe we did the right thing. The matter is in court, and we will face it head-on.”
On May 15, a civil society organisation, the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust, filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja (FHC/ABJ/CS/866/2025) against AMCON, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and IBEDC.
The CSO described the sale as “secretive and illegal,” alleging that the $62m (approximately N100bn) paid for a 60 per cent stake in IBEDC represented a “corrupt undervaluation.”
They argued the federal government is poised to lose $107m, citing the $169m paid for the same stake during the 2013 privatisation exercise.
Despite the controversy, AMCON maintains that the process was transparent and financially beneficial to the public. The official handover to the new investors is expected soon.
ENDS