AMCON confirms sale of Ibadan DisCo for N100bn

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has officially confirmed the sale of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (Ibadan DisCo), one of Nigeria’s largest power distribution firms.

Gbenga Alake, managing director and chief executive officer of AMCON, made the disclosure during a media parley with top editors on Thursday.

The sale follows the federal government’s April 2024 announcement to privatise five power distribution companies currently under the control of banks and AMCON.

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Ibadan DisCo is among the five DisCos listed for divestment, alongside Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company.

According to Alake, IBEDC was sold for N100 billion, and AMCON is preparing to hand over the utility to the preferred bidder.

“Today, I can confirm that Ibadan DisCo has been sold. When we assumed office, we met a concluded deal, but we halted it. We insisted on a new valuation because we felt the initial offer grossly undervalued the company. Eventually, we secured nearly twice the original price,” Alake told journalists.

The sale has, however, sparked legal disputes. Alake acknowledged the emergence of multiple legal claims and petitions challenging the transaction, but expressed confidence that AMCON had followed due process.

“We believe we did the right thing. We’ve concluded the sale, and whatever happens in court, we’re ready to defend our actions,” he said.

In May, reports emerged that the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust, a civil society organisation, had filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging the sale.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/866/2025, names AMCON, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and Ibadan DisCo as defendants.

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The group described the sale of a 60 percent stake in IBEDC, reportedly for $62 million, as “secretive and illegal,” alleging that the asset was “corruptly undervalued.”

It argued that the deal would result in a $107 million loss to the federal government when compared to the $169 million paid for the same stake during the 2013 privatisation exercise.