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Transcorp Power Limited has consolidated its position in Nigeria’s Power sector as it acquired a 60 per cent stake in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
Following the acquisition, Christopher Ezeafulukwe, the managing director/CEO of Transcorp Power Limited, has been appointed as the new Managing Director/CEO of AEDC.
Transcorp Group, whose biggest shareholder is businessman Tony Elumelu, is one of Nigeria’s leading conglomerates with investments in the hospitality, power, and oil and gas sectors.
In a strategic move that further consolidates Transcorp’s position within the Nigerian power sector, Mr Ezeafulukwe’s appointment follows the acquisition of the stake in AEDC by a Transcorp-led consortium.
Prior to his appointment as the MD/CEO of AEDC, Mr Ezeafulukwe was the MD/CEO of Transcorp Power Ltd, Ughelli, a 972-MW thermal plant.
Under his leadership, the company said Transcorp Power Ltd consistently led the Nigerian power sector, being the first successor power company from the 2013 power privatisation program, to be discharged from post-privatisation monitoring by the National Council on Privatisation, having surpassed the
expectations of the Council.
The Ughelli Power plant, which Transcorp Group acquired during the privatisation of the power sector in 2013, demonstrates the group’s transformative prowess, the company said.
“The plant’s available capacity, which stood at 160MW on acquisition, increased by 227 per cent to 680.83MW in 4 years, surpassing the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) five-year target of 670MW.
“With Ezeafulukwe’s proven capabilities and extensive experience, he will play a pivotal role in rejuvenating AEDC, the supplier of power to the nation’s capital,” it added.
Background
AEDC is one of 11 electricity distribution companies that emerged from the 2013 privatisation of the sector.
Since coming on stream, the AEDC, like most other distribution companies, has struggled to improve power supply to its consumers and failed to break even.
In December 2021, the then Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said United Bank of Africa (UBA), lenders to
the majority shareholder at AEDC, had taken over the electricity firm after a feud over its ownership had deteriorated.
Mr Aliyu said the bank, in exercising its rights over the shares of KANN Consortium in AEDC, took over the shares of the obligor in the AEDC.
“This takeover of the majority stake in AEDC by UBA has consequently led to the reported changes in the management of AEDC,” Mr Aliyu said at the time.
In May 2023, the federal government through the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) approved the Transcorp-led Consortium, as the new strategic investor in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.
READ ALSO: Tony Elumelu, family raise stake in Transcorp to 36%
Transcorp Group said its commitment to improving lives and transforming societies remains resolute.
“The Group’s subsidiaries, including Transafam Power Limited and Transcorp Hotels Plc, owners of Transcorp Hilton Abuja, have demonstrated continued value creation and a dedication to creating both economic and social wealth.
“With a combined market capitalisation exceeding N540 billion, the Group continues to demonstrate the Africapitalism philosophy of its Group Chair, Tony Elumelu,” it said.
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