Why Buhari sacked Abuja power company’s board – Minister

The Ministry of Power has described the dissolution of the Board of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc (AEDC) as a normal shake-up in any government’s establishment that failed to meet its targets.

In a statement signed by the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, the ministry said the sack of the electricity distribution company’s management was misconstrued by the media.

The minister said the dissolution of the board and the appointment of an interim board by President Muhammadu Buhari had nothing to do with the company’s workers’ strike or the power outage that engulfed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other states captured by the AEDC.

The statement read: “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Power has been drawn to publications in the print and electronic media relating to recent changes in the ownership structure and management at the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc (AEDC).

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“While noting that the news has largely been communicated out of context, the ministry wishes to notify all stakeholders that the AEDC has, of recent, been facing significant operational challenges arising from a dispute between the investors (KANN Consortium) as owners of 60 percent equity in AEDC and the UBA as lenders for the acquisition for the majority shareholding in the public utility.

“The situation has currently deteriorated due to lack of access to intervention finances leading to a point whereby legitimate entitlements of the staff are being owed, thus leading to service disruptions on the 6th December, 2021, within its franchise area.

“The Federal Ministry of Power has since taken the initiative to engage organised labour and electricity service has since been restored in the FCT and the states served by AEDC.

“The ministry is using this medium to let the general public know that the dissolution of the AEDC management board was just a routine exercise and had nothing to do with power outage as being insinuated in different quarters

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