The Board of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has retained Dr Tinuade Sanda as the (Distribution Company (DisCo)’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The development puts spanners in the works of management, which had declared the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Rekiat Momoh, the new CEO.
The Chairman, Legal and Regulatory Committee of EKEDC, Babor Egeregor, in a statement, defied the earlier directive by the Chairman, Dere Otubu, who announced the removal of Sanda as CEO of the company.
The DisCo had, on Tuesday, announced the appointment of Momoh as the Acting CEO and redeployment of Sanda back to WPG Ltd, the core investor, who seconded her to EKEDC.
Egeregor stated that the decision to remove Sanda did not align with the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)’s directive, which specifically addressed individuals implicated in fraud and negligence scandals.
“It has come to my notice that by a letter dated March 26, 2024, the Chairman of EKEDC, Otubu, purportedly terminated the employment contract of Sanda, the MD/CEO of EKEDC, allegedly in compliance with orders/directives issued by NERC.
“The order, herein displayed, is unambiguous, incapable of, and unyielding to plural interpretations. There is nowhere in the order where NERC requested the removal of any staff, either seconded to or hired by EKEDC, except those connected to the alleged fraud and negligence (Wola Condotti, Sheri Adegbenro and Aik Alenkhe),” he said.
He emphasised that NERC’s directives were issued to compel the board of EKEDC, following picketing by the union and unrelenting staff protests, to act appropriately in the face of a determined position of a majority of the board members to cover up the alleged use of ghost workers, together with the alleged fraud, and protect Condotti especially.
“Otubu’s letter, therefore, was done in bad faith and in revenge against the MD/CEO for escalating the alleged fraud and issuing queries against one of his protégés, whom he has desperately sworn to protect by all means. The Acting DG of BPE, representing the government on the board of EKEDC, vehemently rejected the attempt to cover up the alleged crime and insisted on compliance with the punishment prescribed in the Conditions of Service.
“Rather than comply with the orders of NERC, recourse to subterfuge was hatched with the purported termination and the publication of different misleading headlines,” he stated.
According to the board, EKEDC is known for due process and legality, vowing that anything that would take away from its commitment to due process and corporate governance would be resisted.
It added: “Therefore, let it be known that Sanda remains the MD/CEO of EKEDC and has, since her assumption of office as the MD/CEO, turned EKEDC around for good, with very great milestones and achievements which every sector player recognises. She made EKEDC the number one DisCo in Nigeria. The investors, board, and management of EKEDC believe firmly in her leadership and look forward to many more record-setting moments.
“This is for the information of the general public and all NESI stakeholders.”