Business

Benin DisCo records N750m revenue loss over forceful takeover

The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Plc says it lost N750 million in the last one month due to what it described as illegal takeover of its operations.

The BEDC Managing Director, Funke Osibudu, said this in Benin on Tuesday while addressing newsmen on her reported arrest by the police over the leadership tussle in the company.

There has been controversy over a reported activation of the call on the collateralised shares of the BEDC by Fidelity Bank over alleged inability to repay loans obtained to acquire majority stakes in the DisCos in 2013.

Consequently, Dr Henry Ajagbawa, on July 8, took over the management of the electricity company as new managing director of the company.

However, Osibudu said there was a court order barring Ajagbawa and his group from taking over the BEDC, which made her to return to office.

She further lamented that in spite of the court’s order, Ajagbawa still brought police from Abuja to obstruct the company’s operation and intimidated her.

“We resumed last week because we have a court injunction against them and during the period of the forceful take over BEDC, we lost N750 million in collection in one month.

“The collection went down to zero and if you don’t have money, you can’t purchase power for distribution,” she said.

On her arrest by police from Abuja, the BEDC boss said she was taken to the police headquarters for questioning, adding that when the police discovered the law was on her side, they couldn’t do anything.

“The police who claimed they came from Abuja accused me of having committed fraud, threat to life of Ajagbawa (supposed MD, unlawful restrain and trespass).

“They took me to the police headquarters in Benin for questioning,” the BEDC managing director added.

She explained, however, that when the police was showed the restraining court injunction of July 8, from Federal High Court, Abuja, against Ajagbawa and his group, the police couldn’t do anything.

“Till date I have not received any official document from the BPE (Bureau of Public Entreprise) or the BEDC board mandating anybody to take over the affairs from me but somebody just marched to the office and said, I have been asked to take over, this is not law.

“From the record, there is no official document, written to the board of BEDC that I have been removed.

“But what we see was in pages of newspaper that we have been removed and that is not how law works,” she said.

Osibudu insisted the core investors in the BEDC, Vigeo Power, never pledged company shares, saying it was Vigeo Holdings Limited (VHL), a non-shareholder of company, that obtained credit facilities from Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc and Keystone Bank Plc.

The Star