Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have dragged the
federal government to court over alleged undue interference in their business
operations.
The federal government holds 40 percent shares in the power
firms.
The suit was filed at the federal high
court in Abuja on May 14 by 10 DisCos.
The applicants are Abuja, Ibadan, Eko, Ikeja, Kaduna, Kano,
Jos, Benin, Enugu and Port Harcourt electricity distribution companies.
The DisCos asked the court to stop the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC) from conducting a forensic audit of their
operations.
Other respondents are the national economic council,
attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and Transmission Company of Nigeria
(TCN).
“An order directing that the grant of leave shall operate as
a stay of any further action(s) or proceedings by the respondents, their
officers, employees, servants, agents, privies, related parties and any other
person acting through or on behalf of the respondents, howsoever described,
from, in any manner whatsoever, (i) acting in connection with the notice of
forensic audit issued by the 1st respondent or such similar letter(s),
notice(s) or instrument(s), and (ii) conducting a forensic audit of the
applicants’ operations pending the hearing final determination of this action
and/or further direction by this honourable court,” court papers seen by
TheCable read.
“The 1st respondent is now taking steps to conduct the
forensic audit and compel the applicants to inter-alia present their financial,
administrative and relevant technical records, books, accounts and other
documents including the applicants’ minutes of meetings to the forensic
auditors appointed by the 1st respondent to conduct the forensic audit.
“The applicants are apprehensive that the 1st respondent
will impose sanctions on the applicants and their directors, if the applicants
fail to comply with the notice of forensic audit and/or co-operate with the
forensic auditors appointed by the 1st respondent.
“The applicants’ could not bring this application before the
expiration of the notice period in the notice of forensic audit because of the
ravaging COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown restrictions and other measures put
in place by the government to curb the spread of the virus.”
A top official in one of the DisCos who spoke with TheCable
on condition of anonymity, said meddling in the operations of firms when they
have boards is unacceptable.
“There are so many issues we are battling with in the power
sector. We are private companies and we cannot take the interference anymore.
That’s why we have decided to take this to court,” the official said.
“The federal government is pushing the DisCos as though it’s
their business. If you have the normal equity, you have the right to do all
that.
“The government said it will provide two-month electricity
for Nigerians because of COVID-19. Now, people are not paying. It’s seriously
affecting our collection. Yet, they expect us to remit one-hundred percent.”
- In November 2019, the national economic council appointed Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, as head of the audit committee.
Sale Mamman, the minister of power, had earlier warned
DisCos to step up capacity saying the federal government could not continue
subsiding electricity without a positive outcome.
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