AMCON sells Ibadan electricity firm for ₦100 billion amid controversy

• IBEDC sold for ₦100bn as part of distressed asset divestment
• Civil society group sues AMCON, alleging secretive and undervalued deal
• Critics say sale ignores IBEDC’s trillion-naira asset base and public interest

Abuja/Ibadan, Nigeria – The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced the sale of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for N100 billion, sparking controversy and legal action over the transaction’s transparency and valuation.

Speaking at a media briefing on 3 July 2025, AMCON’s Managing Director and CEO, Gbenga Alake, confirmed the deal, explaining that it followed an 18-month suspension of asset sales.

IBEDC is one of five power distribution companies taken over by AMCON due to financial distress. The others include Abuja, Benin, Kaduna, and Kano DisCos.

Alake revealed that the initial offer for IBEDC was renegotiated and nearly doubled, resulting in the current ₦100 billion sale price. “We have sold it… and whatever is still happening in court, we will face it,” he said, responding to the growing backlash.

The preferred bidder is expected to assume operational control soon. However, the sale has triggered legal opposition. On 15 May 2025, the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust, a civil society organisation, filed a suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/866/2025) at the Federal High Court in Abuja, naming AMCON, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and IBEDC as defendants.

The group alleges that the sale of a 60% stake for $62 million (around ₦100 billion) was “secretive and illegal”, undervaluing the company by $107 million compared to the $169 million paid during IBEDC’s 2013 privatisation. The suit also claims the deal violates procurement regulations, lacks competitive bidding, and disregards the public interest, risking further damage to Nigeria’s fragile power sector.

Critics highlight that IBEDC controls assets reportedly worth over ₦1 trillion, including 23,472 distribution transformers, 142 power transformers, 2.5 million poles, 51 million metres of conductors, and ₦80 billion worth of real estate across Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, and parts of Kogi, Niger, and Ekiti States.

The deal follows AMCON’s 2022 takeover of IBEDC after its core investor, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited (IEDM), defaulted on a loan from Polaris Bank (formerly Skye Bank). A court ruling in September 2021 upheld the receivership.

The matter is scheduled for hearing on 9 September 2025 as stakeholders continue to debate the sale’s legality and implications for the future of electricity distribution in Nigeria.