Re: Crisis In Eko Electricity Distribution Company - NERC Provides Firm Clarification
We refer to various misleading publications made in relation to the above in certain news publications dated 26 and 27 March, 2024 and the subsequent clarification issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission dated 27 March 2024 (Appendix 1).
We therefore wish to inform all stakeholders involved in the Nige- rian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) as well as the general pub- lic that on March 27th, 2024, NERC issued a letter clarifying a pre- vious directive issued on 21 March 2024 (appendix 2) which was misunderstood and unilaterally acted upon by the Chairman of the Board without recourse to the Board or the appropriate commit- tees of the Board saddled with the responsibility for such oversight. This erroneous and unilateral action caused the Chairman of the Board to release a press statement recalling the MD/CEO Dr. Tin- uade Sanda and other management staff to the parent company, WPG Limited without due process and against the dictates of the NERC correspondence. Thankfully, NERC has clarified their posi- tion on this matter.
According to NERC’s latest clarification, “The Commission has noted the strong public interest generated by the current event at EKEDP and the various interpretations of the resolutions con- veyed vide the said letter, particularly, with respect to paragraphs (4b) and 4(c). We therefore hereby provide further clarifications as follows:
1.Paragraph 4b: All staff of EKEDP, irrespective of their form of engagement, will be subject to the Conditions of Service of EKEDP. The Commission deemed it necessary to pass this resolution based on the submission of EKEDP, at the meeting of 20 March 2024, that the Condition of Service (“CoS”) of EKEDP was not applicable to Seconded personnel from third party providers”.
EKEDP RESPONSE: The Board is resolved to align with the dic- tates of the regulator, going from our resolutions at the last board meeting held in March 2024.
2. Paragraph 4c – “EKEDP Board is expected to conclude its review of its investigation into the allegation of Ghost workers to identify all personnel involved in causing loss of revenues to EKEDP no later than 27th March 2024. In a case where the indicted parties are seconded from third party providers and since they are reportedly NOT subject to the EKEDP CoS, they are to be recalled to their parent companies to avoid the risk of further losses to EKEDP”.
EKEDP RESPONSE: This suggestion by the regulator is welcome as it strengthens corporate governance within EKEDP as an insti- tution.
OUR STAND
We appreciate the proactive action of the Commission and the clarifications, which unambiguously indicate that:
(A) all contracts of employment of anyone working for EKEDP, whether of WPG, EKEDP, or otherwise, must be subject to and regulated by the Condition of Service of EKEDP.
(B) The legal fulcrum and basis for the purported recall of the sec- onded staff has been vitiated and now non-existent since the basis
of the recall of the seconded staff was the initial misinterpretation of the previous NERC Resolution/Orders
(C) The express recall and termination of the contract of employ- ment of staffers/employees whose actions led to a loss of revenue to EKEDP. The staff in question, Wola Joseph-Condotti, Sheri Adeg- benro and Aik Alenkhe, had been subjected to Disciplinary Com- mittee proceedings - the outcome of which has been contested by some Board members. It must be noted that the board of EKEDP also includes The Bureau of Public Enterprises as a representative of the Federal Government of Nigeria on the Board -
Consequently, the seconded Management staff of WPG Limited, whose recalls were done in “error” are hereby mandated and re- quired to return to their respective management positions, duties, and offices EXCEPT those named in (C) above, who have already been identified and subjected to Disciplinary Committee proceed- ings over the allegations of fraud and negligent actions through ghost workers and exited staff, which occasioned financial losses to the Company.
As a responsible corporate entity, EKEDP shall be providing full co-operation with the appropriate law enforcement agencies in- cluding the Nigerian Police, the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the leadership of the Nigerian Body of Benchers and relevant members of the Legal Practitioners Disci- plinary Committee for further actions on the alleged fraud perpet- uated by the afore-mentioned persons.
We once again thank our Regulator, NERC, for providing this clar- ification, the NESI stakeholders, and the public for their kind con- cerns, as well as the employees of EKEDP and WPG Limited for their patience through all of this.
We therefore ask all stakeholders to discountenance all initial or- ders or actions unilaterally and erroneously taken by the office of the Chairman of the Board without recourse to the board. The purported removal of the Managing Director/Chief Executive in a clear breach of the code of corporate governance is hereby re- versed, null and void.
Signed:
Babor Egregor
Chairman
Legal and Regulatory Committee, Board of Directors Eko Electricity Distribution Company 27March2024
Cc:
Honourable Minister of Power
Federal Ministry of Power
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Inspector General of Police
Ministry of Finance Incorporated
WPG Ltd
THURSDAY MARCH 28, 2024
