Confusion grew in the power sector on Wednesday following a report that KEPCO Energy Resources Nigeria Ltd, the majority owner of Egbin Power Plc, had been placed under receivership after a creditor, FBNQuest Trustees Ltd, moved to recover unpaid debts.
In a public notice issued on Wednesday, it was stated that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Ogunba of Insolvency Forte, was appointed by the court as the Receiver/Manager to take control of KEPCO’s assets, including its 70 per cent stake in Egbin Power, Nigeria’s largest thermal power plant.
However, Sahara Group debunked Ogunba’s receivership claim, saying Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric Plc, and First Independent Power Limited remain fully operational, financially stable, and firmly under the control of their legitimate management.
KEPCO, a subsidiary of Sahara Energy Resources Group, acquired the majority stake in Egbin Power during the 2013 power sector privatisation, partly financed through credit facilities.
Ogunba said the receivership followed a Security Deed signed in August 2013 and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in 2014. He said the Deed of Appointment was formally filed with the CAC in June 2025. According to him, all debtors, financial institutions, and regulatory agencies have been instructed to freeze any dealings with KEPCO’s assets until further notice.
The notice specifically named institutions such as the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry Stabilisation Security Limited, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the Bureau of Public Enterprises to take note of the new development in the power companies.
“Take Notice That ‘Kunle Ogunba Esq. SAN, Legal Practitioner of INSOLVENCY FORTE, House 1928, Isale Eko Avenue, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, has been appointed Receiver/Manager by Messrs FBNQUEST Trustees Ltd over the entire undertakings, stocks, good will, plant and machinery, moveable and fixed properties or assets of Kepco Energy Resources Nigeria Ltd — in Receivership and its 70 per cent stake in Egbin Power Plc, pursuant to a Security Deed dated the 21 day of August, 2013 registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja on the 22nd day of JANUARY, 2014. The Deed of Appointment of Receiver/Manager dated the 19th day of June, 2025, has been duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja.
“All debtors of the company are to preserve the assets in furtherance of the ongoing receivership exercise. Also, all creditors (if any) are to send their proof of claims to the Receiver/Manager within 14 days from the date of this publication,” the notice stated.
It added that “all deposits, cash, shares and others currently held by Banks, Financial Institutions, Companies and Regulatory Authorities in Nigeria should be held until the issuance of further directives by the adjudicating Courts or his appointors in accordance with the subsisting actions in Suit FHC/L/CS/1281/2025, particularly in Suit FHC/L/CS/1242/2025 pending at the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division which has affirmed the appointment/subsistence of a receiver/manager and specifically refused to set aside same as a completed act.
“All holders of such deposits in favour of the company and all financial institutions, institutions (particularly the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry Stabilisation Security Ltd, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Bureau Of Public Enterprise and current accounts in favour of the company should contact the Receiver/Manager stating the balances and where secured facilities are granted, the type of security attached should be disclosed.”
Debunking the notice, Sahara Group described it as a false media report sourced from misleading advertorials. The management of the power companies said the notice was contrary to a subsisting court ruling.
“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,” the Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, Ikeja Electric, Babatunde Osadare, 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), 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 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.
He reassured all stakeholders that 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.
“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,” he added.
This is coming amid the trillion-dollar debts rocking the power sector. It could be recalled that some distribution companies have been taken over by lenders due to their inability to pay their loans. There are fears that the power sector may be paralysed if Egbin, the largest power plant, falls under receivership.
The claims and counterclaims between both parties have continued to generate reactions among industry players. In his comment, the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, said the report of the receivership highlighted the persistent challenges of the power sector, which “has become a troubling conundrum.”
According to him, the challenges stemmed from flawed privatisation processes, ageing equipment, limited technical and financial capacity of the power distribution firms, problematic pricing and tariff structures, coupled with affordability concerns among the citizenry and an unsustainable subsidy regime.
The result, he regretted, has been an acute liquidity crisis in the sector. Yusuf noted that there are clear conflicts between the commercial objectives of private investors, DisCos, and GenCos; the citizens’ desire for affordable electricity; the quest by industrialists for an investment-friendly electricity tariff; and a politically acceptable tariff regime.
“The government’s obstruction and the citizens’ opposition to cost-reflective tariffs, despite demands from private investors in the sector, further complicate the situation. This created numerous contradictions and conflicts that require careful and painstaking strategic resolution. What has happened to the DisCos is also partly a consequence of the prohibitive interest rate in the economy, given the high degree of leveraging of most of the DisCos. It is very difficult for any long-term project to survive the current excruciating lending rate in the economy,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Yusuf noted that it would be perturbing if Ikeja Electric, often touted as the best-performing electricity distribution company in the country with a prosperous customer base, would end up in receivership.
“This development suggests a similar fate could await other distribution companies in the near term. Indeed, five others were already in receivership before now. They include Abuja, Benin, Kaduna, Kano, and Ibadan DisCos. Given the power sector’s strategic importance, government’s urgent intervention is imperative to prevent a complete collapse of the national power ecosystem. The power sector is not just a business; it is crucial for economic development, economic sustainability and economic security.
“While a sustainable framework for power sector liquidity and subsidies is being developed, the government must take immediate steps to stabilise the sector.
“Meanwhile, the worry now is that in a receivership, banks primarily seek to recover their funds, typically disregarding economic, social, environmental, or productivity objectives. The overriding objective would be debt recovery, even if it means liquidating the assets. The ultimate victims of a power sector collapse are citizens, industries and investors,” he submitted. (Punch)
