The Federal Government has announced the that Fidelity Bank Plc has taken over Kano, Benin and Kaduna electricity distribution.
This follows an action initiated by the bank to take over the boards of the three Discos.
The notice was signed by the Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh; and Executive Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sanusi Garba and disclosed on Tuesday.
It read in part, “Today we were informed by Fidelity Bank that they have activated the call on the collateralised shares of Kano, Benin and Kaduna (Fidelity and AFREXIM) Discos and that they have initiated action to take over the boards of these Discos and exercise the rights on the shares.
“Fidelity Bank’s action is a contractual and commercial intervention and is between the core investors in the Discos and the lender. BPE is involved because of the 40 per cent shareholding of government in the Discos.”
It added, “We are engaging with the Central Bank of Nigeria (as the banking sector regulator) to ensure an orderly transition and to ensure that Fidelity Bank does not hold the Discos’ shares in perpetuity.
“It is envisaged that the majority interest in the entities would be sold to capable private sector investors willing and able to re-capitalise and manage the entities efficiently.
“We have also received assurances that Fidelity Bank will participate fully in all the ongoing market initiatives aimed at improving the sector (e.g. National Mass Metering Programme).
