… Receivership /Manager maintains position
The management of Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric Plc (IE) and First Independent Power Limited (FIPL), has denied that the companies are under receivership.
An advertorial was published in This Day Newspapers on August 6, 2025, where it is stated that Kunle Ogunba Esq. SAN” has been appointed as Receiver/Manager over the entities by a Federal High Court
But Industry analysts said they are confused over this development with the positions of the parties involved in this matter. Because they don’t believe the receiver/Manager would just wake up and publish such a thing without Court’s consent.
However,the Management of the power companies said the publications, contrary to a subsisting court ruling, erroneously claimed the appointment of a Receiver/Manager over KEPCO Energy Resource Nigeria Limited, NG Power-HPS Limited, and New Electricity Distribution Company, with operating companies as follows: KEPCO (Egbin Power), NG Power-HPS Limited (FIPL) and New Electricity Distribution Company (Ikeja Electric).
“We state unequivocally and for the record that Egbin Power Plc, First Independent Power Limited, and Ikeja Electric Plc are absolutely not in Receivership, and their assets, businesses, or undertakings are not under the management of any external Receiver/Manager whatsoever,” Babatunde Osadare, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, Ikeja Electric, said on behalf of the power companies’ Management.
Osadare said the claims were not only false, but “represent a gross misrepresentation of facts and a malicious attempt at self-help designed to subvert the course of justice.”
According to him, in definitive rulings delivered on August 5, 2025 (Suit Nos. FHC/L/CS/1242, FHC/L/CS/1244, FHC/L/CS/1245), the Honorable Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos explicitly restrained the Lenders and their purported Receiver/Manager from taking any adverse actions.
Osadare said the rulings specifically prohibits the purported Receiver/Manager from: accelerating the disputed loan facility before its maturity; interfering in any manner with the assets, businesses, or undertakings of the Power Entities, including operational accounts; enforcing any share security over the assets of the Power Entities or their sponsors, based on the disputed debt; or unilaterally enforcing any finance documents related to the disputed debt.
“We therefore urge the general public, our valued customers, financial partners, regulators, and all stakeholders to completely disregard the falsehoods presented in the aforementioned This Day advertorials and any related, unfolding misleading press releases. The core matters referenced are actively being litigated and the Lenders, represented by the purported Receiver/Manager, have formally submitted to the Court’s jurisdiction,” Osadare said.
Reassuring all stakeholders, Osadare said the power companies emphatically reaffirm their steadfast commitment to the development of the nation’s Power Sector and their vital role of responsibly powering homes, communities, and businesses across the nation.
He added; “Egbin Power, First Independent Power, and Ikeja Electric remain fully operational, financially stable, and firmly under the control of their legitimate management. Our focus remains unwavering on our core mission: providing reliable electricity and driving the growth of Nigeria’s critical power sector. We have full confidence in the Nigerian judicial system to fairly resolve the underlying disputes.”
But Industry analysts are asking that if is not true as calimed the management, could the Federal High Court’s name be deliberately dragged into the issue without consent by Kunle Ogunde, SAN without knowing the implications of his action?.
According to the advertorialthe decision for the companies to go into receivership was confirmed by Justice Akintayo Aluko, after a consortium of 12 creditor banks including Zenith Bank, UBA, FCMB, Union Bank, Sterling Bank, Fidelity Bank, Ecobank, Access Bank, Keystone Bank, First Bank, First Trustees, and FBNQuest Merchant Bank, sought to enforce debts owed by the companies through receivership proceedings.
According to a public notice filed at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Ogunba was appointed on June 19, 2025, by FBNQuest Trustees Ltd. under a Deed of Appointment referencing a **2013 security agreement registered at the CAC on January 22, 2014.
Justice Aluko, in his ruling on suit numbers FHC/L/CS/1242/2025, FHC/L/CS/1244/2025, and FHC/L/CS/1245/2025, upheld the validity of the appointment, describing it as a “completed act.”
The court declined to dismiss the suit despite objections from the plaintiffs —Kepco Energy Resources Nigeria Limited, New Electricity Distribution Company Limited, and NG Power-HPS Limited— who sought to halt the takeover.
The matter has been adjourned to October 20, 2025 for further mention, but the appointment of the receiver remains in force.
The receivership in a formal notice seen by Advisors Reports directed all debtors of KEPCO and its affiliates to preserve assets pending further directives.
It instructed all creditors to submit proof of claims within 14 days from August 6, 2025.
It also urged banks, financial institutions, and regulators — including the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry Stabilization Security Ltd. (NESISSL), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE); to freeze and preserve all deposits, shares, and accounts of KEPCO and Ikeja Electric until further court orders.
With Ikeja Electric now joining, 6 out of Nigeria’s 11 DisCos are under receivership.
Already five other DisCos including Abuja, Benin, Kaduna, Kano, and Ibadan DisCos were earlier taken over by banks or AMCON under receivership arrangement.
