The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has completed the sale of its 60 per cent equity stake in the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), marking a major step in its renewed drive to recover bad debts and divest distressed national assets.
This development was confirmed on Thursday during a press briefing in Lagos by AMCON’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gbenga Alade, who disclosed that the transaction followed a revised bidding process after the corporation rejected an earlier offer it deemed too low.
“I announce to you that Ibadan Disco has been sold,” Alade declared. “We came in and said no to the earlier transaction. We insisted on a fair valuation. At the end of the day, we got almost double what IBEDC was originally going to be sold for.”
Although AMCON did not disclose the final sale price, some reports estimate the deal at over N100 billion, while court filings allege the corporation initially proposed to sell the stake for $62 million — a figure that has sparked widespread controversy when compared to the company’s $169 million valuation in 2013.
Alade noted that legal proceedings are still ongoing regarding the sale, but maintained that the handover to the preferred bidder will go ahead regardless.
“We have sold it… and whatever is still happening in court, we will face it,” he said, brushing aside criticism over the transparency of the deal.
IBEDC is one of the major electricity distribution companies in Nigeria, responsible for power distribution in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, and parts of Kogi, Niger, and Ekiti States. AMCON held a 60% stake in the company while the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) controls the remaining 40%.
However, the deal has drawn criticism from civil society. In May 2025, the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust (AIAAPT) filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against AMCON, IBEDC, BPE, and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The group alleged that the transaction lacked transparency and that the asset was undervalued.
But Alade dismissed the criticisms as distractions by debtors unwilling to repay their loans.
“These obligors damaged the Nigerian economy. They never intended to repay the loans they borrowed from various banks,” he said. “We will not be deterred by these antics. Our job is to serve the motherland, and we’ll do that with humility and integrity.”
He also emphasized the scale of AMCON’s recovery mandate, describing it as “one of the toughest” tasks in his career, especially given that many high-profile debtors occupy positions of influence in government and industry.
With the moratorium on asset sales now lifted, AMCON has resumed aggressive divestments. Alade noted that the corporation had successfully sold several high-value assets worth billions of naira, adding that key companies under receivership like Arik Air and Aero Contractors are now showing strong signs of recovery.
“Arik is returning to profitability, and Aero Contractors remains the only Nigerian airline with an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility — a result of disciplined management,” Alade said.
In a bold move to strengthen its global debt recovery efforts, AMCON has also engaged foreign asset tracers to locate properties and funds hidden abroad by defaulting debtors.
“We have commissioned foreign firms to help us locate where these obligors have stashed assets across the world,” Alade stated.
AMCON’s renewed push has received solid institutional backing, with Alade confirming support from President Bola Tinubu, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Attorney General’s Office, the EFCC, the ICPC, and the National Assembly.
This multi-agency collaboration, he said, is crucial for recovering the over N4.4 trillion AMCON was originally mandated to reclaim — debts which, if not recovered, remain a direct burden on taxpayers and the national treasury.