Valentine Okafor
Through the intervention of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) the value for the sale of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) rose to ₦100 billion.
This is nearly double the amount originally proposed earlier in the sale process.
The announcement represents the culmination of a process that began in April 2024 when the federal government directed AMCON and a consortium of banks to orchestrate the sale of five electricity distribution companies (DisCos): IBEDC, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company.
“At the time we took over management, IBEDC had already been marked for sale,” according to Gbenga Alade, AMCON’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Alade explained, “But we intervened, rejected the initial offer, and pushed for a better bid. Ultimately, we secured nearly twice the value initially proposed”.
Alade is confident in the deal’s validity and underlying process.
“We have sold it… and whatever is still happening in court, we will face it,” he said.
The backdrop to this sale is a lawsuit filed on May 15, 2025 by the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust an anti-corruption civil society organisation.
The group petitioned the Federal High Court in Abuja, filing suit FHC/ABJ/CS/866/2025, against AMCON, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and IBEDC.
The suit alleges the sale was conducted “secretively and illegally,” and claims the stake—reportedly 60 per cent of IBEDC was undervalued at $62 million (approximately ₦52 billion at current exchange rates).
This starkly contrasts with the $169 million paid during IBEDC’s initial privatisation in 2013, allegedly representing a loss of $107 million in public resources.
IBEDC, one of Nigeria’s 11 distribution utilities, came under AMCON’s management in early 2022 following a takeover of its investor’s asset due to loan default.
In February 2023, a Federal High Court in Lagos temporarily blocked AMCON from selling the company, citing pending litigation regarding its authority to dispose of the assets.
Despite continued legal constraints, AMCON has pursued the sale under the federal government’s strategic direction.
Alake highlighted that AMCON had initially rejected a lower offer when assuming control over IBEDC’s sale.
After reopening the bidding, a ₦100 billion deal was struck, nearly doubling the prior offer. Based on prevailing forex rates (₦840/US $1 as of July 3, 2025), the transaction equates to approximately US $119 million—significantly higher than the US $62 million cited in the suit.
For AMCON, the sale marks a strategic step in the recovery of debts owed by creditors, as mandated by its remit to manage and liquidate non-performing assets.
If the deal is completed, it may serve as a precedent for the remaining DisCos as well as broader public-private partnerships designed to strengthen electricity infrastructure and service delivery.