Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric Plc (IE) and First Independent Power Limited (FIPL) have refuted media reports sourced from misleading advertorials published a major newspaper on Wednesday, alleging the appointment of Kunle Ogunba as Receiver/Manager over the entities.
In a statement on Monday, the management of the power companies said that, contrary to a subsisting court ruling, the publication erroneously claimed the appointment of a Receiver/Manager over KEPCO Energy Resource Nigeria Limited, NG Power-HPS Limited, and New Electricity Distribution Company, with KEPCO (Egbin Power), NG Power-HPS Limited (FIPL) and New Electricity Distribution Company (Ikeja Electric) as operating companies.
In the statement on behalf of the management of the power companies, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer of Ikeja Electric, Mr. Babatunde Osadare said: ‘We state unequivocally and for the record that Egbin Power Plc, First Independent Power Limited, and Ikeja Electric Plc are absolutely not in receivership, and their assets, businesses, or undertakings are not under the management of any external Receiver/Manager whatsoever’.
Osadare said that the claims were not only false, but ‘represent a gross misrepresentation of facts and a malicious attempt at self-help designed to subvert the course of justice’.
According to him, in definitive rulings delivered on 5 August 2025 (Suit Nos. FHC/L/CS/1242, FHC/L/CS/1244, FHC/L/CS/1245), Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos explicitly restrained the lenders and their ‘purported’ Receiver/Manager from taking any adverse actions.
Osadare said that the rulings specifically prohibited the ‘purported’ Receiver/Manager from accelerating the disputed loan facility before its maturity, interfering in any manner with the assets, businesses, or undertakings of the power entities, including operational accounts, enforcing any share security over the assets of the power entities or their sponsors, based on the disputed debt; or unilaterally enforcing any finance documents related to the disputed debt.
‘We therefore urge the general public, our valued customers, financial partners, regulators, and all stakeholders to completely disregard the falsehoods presented in the aforementioned advertorials and any related, unfolding misleading press releases. The core matters referenced are actively being litigated and the lenders, represented by the purported Receiver/Manager, have formally submitted to the court’s jurisdiction’, Osadare furher said.
Reassuring all stakeholders, Osadare said that the power companies emphatically reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to the development of the power sector and their vital role of responsibly powering homes, communities, and businesses across the nation.
He added: ‘Egbin Power, First Independent Power, and Ikeja Electric remain fully operational, financially stable, and firmly under the control of their legitimate management. Our focus remains unwavering on our core mission: providing reliable electricity and driving the growth of Nigeria’s critical power sector. We have full confidence in the Nigerian judicial system to fairly resolve the underlying disputes’.
