…customer’s confidence threatened
A Major Management shakeup has taken place in the management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
This is likely to affect the confidence of customers and other stakeholders of the company because it will now be having the 6th managing director and chief executive officer in the last 10 years.
Within 10 years the company has been managed by 5 managing directors with the newly appointed acting managing Victor Ojelabi as the 6th MD /CEO:( i. )Neil Croucher,(ii) Ernest Mupwaya (longest serving),( iii ) Akinwumi Bada, (iv ) Engr. Adeoye Fadeyibi, (v) Chris Ezeafulukwe ( who allegedly resigned from his appointment ) and Victor Ojelabi, acting managing director and CEO.
The restricting and appointments follows a memo signed by the chairman, board of directors of the company, Dr. Stanley Lawson, to all staff of the company intimating of the appointment of an acting managing director and the chief operating officer of the company in person of, Mr. Victor Ojelabi, who is currently the chief internal Auditor.
What keeps people asking questions is that the memo from the chairman was dated 29th January 2024 and restructuring and new appointments immediately were made.
“Victor has been charged to drive the Board approved turnaround plan to reposition AEDC as the leading distribution company in Nigeria,” the memo stated.
There are doubts as to what was responsible for the former managing director of the company to have left. While some people alleged that some management members of the company told them that he resigned on health grounds, there are also, those who believe that the man must have resigned due to some irreconcilable differences between him and the board of the company.
The exercise according to a statement credited to the acting managing director and the chief executive officer of AEDC has been described as a major realignment and appointment of fresh hands and those with in-depth knowledge of the workings of the organisation/ network.
A statement released by the acting managing director/CEO of the company, Victor Ojelabi, said: “In furtherance of the implementation of the Board-approved AEDC Turnaround Plan, please be advised of the following key updates in our dear company, as we move to reposition AEDC as the clear market leader in the Nigerian electricity distribution.
A. Chief Technical Officer – Godfrey Aba
Godfrey Abah has been appointed Chief Technical Officer. He will be responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the Company’s technical operations to ensure efficient operations and optimal network performance. His appointment takes effect immediately.
B. Restructuring of the Chief Business Officer (CBO) Role and Appointment of Leticia Ejendu
The Chief Business Officer role has been restructured to provide the right executive attention and drive for our districts, ensure end-to-end energy accounting and improve customer experience. We will now have 3 Chief Business Officers reporting to the MD/CEO directly.
Leticia Ejendu has been appointed as one of the 3 Chief Business Officers, within the new CBO structure. She will oversee the other regions pending the appointment of the other two CBOs. Her appointment takes effect immediately.
C. Head, Human Resources – Ibem Idika
Ibem Idika has been appointed Head, Human Resources. He will be responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing the HR policies across the Company as well as implementation of the Company’s talent strategy. He takes over from the acting Head, Human Resources and will be resuming immediately.
D. Chief Internal Auditor – Irene Nwankwo
Irene Nwankwo has been appointed Chief Internal Auditor effective immediately. She will be responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of governance, risk management and internal control arrangements and playing a key role in promoting good corporate governance in the Company. Her appointment takes effect immediately.
E. Other Announcements
The following people will operate in an acting capacity, pending the resumption of the substantive heads of the areas:
Branding and Corporate Communication – Mimi Angyu
Regulatory and Government Relation – Sasi Jaja”
“Please join me in congratulating all on their new appointments, especially Godfrey Abah and Leticia Ejendu, who have been promoted from within, showcasing our commitment to employee growth. I strongly believe that their appointments will strengthen our executive management cadre and add significant value to the Company’s strategic objectives.
Further announcements will be made as we fill up all the critical roles.
I am excited about the turnaround of AEDC and urge everyone to remain committed and dedicated as we work towards making AEDC the leading distribution company in Nigeria”
Abuja Electricity Distribution Company ( AEDC) began operations and business of power distribution in November 2013 as of one 11 Electricity Distribution Licensees granted License to operates past privatisation era.
However, these years are not without challenges for the company in areas of financial management, dearth of governance structure and sector’s risks volatility and regulatory risks exposures.
The company has also recently experienced dwindling fortunes in revenue and cash flow, and it became difficult to meet most of its financial obligations to some service providers and contractors.
Very recently, the company ( AEDC ) was placed under receivership and was eventually taken over due to its inability to pay for backlogs of debts believed to have been accumulated due to a lack of prudential cost recovery, financial leakages, human elements, resource wattages amongst others ..
As of 2018 / 2019, the monthly cash collection of AEDC was about Fifteen Billion Naira ( N15 Billion Naira ). However the company was faced with challenges of management, how to improve on customer centricity, Data Centricity, Revenue Optimization, Collection Efficiencies, Billing Efficiencies and Reduced to the barest possible point the ATC & C Losses amongst others.
Efforts to reach Rotimi Omisore, Head of the corporate affairs units failed as he failed to respond to my text and WhatsApp messages