Nigeria’s commercial bank, Fidelity Bank, managing the shares of Kano, Benin, and Kaduna electricity distribution companies (DisCos), has moved to take over the boards of the companies.
Truetells Nigeria reports reports that the bank is doing this over the companies’ inability to repay loans obtained to pay for assets acquired in the 2013 privatisation exercise.
The bank has written to the Bureau of Public Enterprise, which oversees the government’s 40 percent stake in the DisCos that it had replaced the board members of the affected companies.
The new board members, appointed by Fidelity Bank, for Kano DisCo are Hasan Tukur (Chairman), Nelson Ahaneku (Member), and Rabiu Suleiman (Member).
For Benin DisCo, the board members are KC Akuma (Chairman), Adeola Ijose (Member), and Charles Onwera (Member) while for Kaduna DisCo, the new appointments are Abbas Jega (Chairman), Ameenu Abubakar (Member), and Marlene Ngoyi (Member).
BPE has nominated Bashir Gwandu (Kano), Yomi Adeyemi (Benin), and Umar Abdullahi (Kaduna) as independent Directors to represent the government’s 40 percent interest in the three DisCos respectively, during the transition.
Meanwhile, Hassan Tukur, the newly appointed Kano chairman has a history of graft as he was in 2016 taken to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In May 2016, the EFCC granted administrative bail to Tukur, who was the principal secretary to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Tukur was in detention for days for allegedly diverting at least $35 million he obtained to negotiate the release of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Islamist insurgents belonging to Boko Haram.
At least 276 female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State were kidnapped on the night of April 14, 2014 by Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram.
Some of the victims have yet to be recovered eight years later.
SaharaReporters had quoted a source as saying that Tukur was detained and interrogated on charges that included his reported pocketing of about $35 million out of $40 million budgeted for negotiating the release of Chibok girls.
The source said Tukur was released on bail but ordered to report to the EFCC’s headquarters in Abuja whenever he was required to do so.
BusinessDay reported on Tuesday that the Central Bank of Nigeria is no longer willing to continue to allow Nigerian banks to carry their huge non-performing loans associated with the funding of the privatisation of the power sector without having to provide for them.
The apex bank, which has supported the beleaguered electricity sector with both cash injection as well as forbearance, is now contemplating a change in the rules in light of the poor performance of at least five of the distribution companies (DisCos).
