How Tunde Ayeni Lost Ibadan Electricity Company 6yrs After Losing Skye Bank

Times have not been good for Nigerian businessman, Tunde Ayeni, who was top in ruling class of the business world until about six years ago. He has lost another company, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Ltd (IEDM) to the Nigerian government on Friday, six years after losing defunct Skye Bank. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had taken over the asset of Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank), where Ayeni was majority shareholder and served as chairman, due to bad loan and mismanagement. Those reasons have now cost him Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing, which is the majority stakeholder of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), a disco firm purchased in 2013.

Ayeni reportedly owed Skye Bank unpaid N102 billion loan during CBN clampdown in 2016, forcing him to resign his position, a similar situation happening in IBEDC, where he and his board have now been ousted by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

AMCON, which serves as the Federal Government loan recovery agency stated that IBEDC granted loans from Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Funds (NEMSF) to the core investors in the disco company. But the central bank gives the NEMS Funds to electricity companies with the intention that the money be used to better their networks, reduce aggregate technical, commercial, as well as collection losses.

The investors were accused of delaying repayment of the loan, leading AMCON to order the dissolution of the company’s board within 21 days, on 19, June 2018.

Ayeni denied the loan default claim by AMCON, stating that monthly expectation for repayment had been met as of June 14, 2018. He and other affected directors filed a case against the loan recovery agency, and subsequently won a judgement against AMCON’s order in an Abuja Federal High Court on July 10, 2020.

The judgement was, however, overturned by the Federal High Court on September 8, 2021, giving AMCON the right to proceed with the takeover of the company and its assets. This resulted in AMCON appointing Kunle Ogunba as the Receiver/Manager in the receivership action in October 2021. IBEDC yesterday announced the takeover officially.