BEDC Loses N750m To Forceful Takeover Of Operation

The managing director, Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Funke Osibodu, has disclosed that the company has lost N750 million in one month due to what she described as illegal taking over of operation of the company.

Osibodu disclosed this yesterday while addressing journalists on her alleged apprehension by the police over the leadership tussle of the company.

Recall that on July 8, Dr. Henry Ajagbawa, had taken over the management of BEDC as the new managing director of the company.

Osibodu said despite a Court order barring Ajagbawa and his group from taking over the BEDC, they still brought the police from Abuja to obstruct the company’s operation and tried to apprehend her.

“We resumed last week because we have a court injunction against them and during the period of the alleged forceful take over BEDC, we lost N750 million in collection in one month. The collection went down and if you don’t have money, you can’t purchase power for distribution.

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Speaking on her alleged apprehension by police from Abuja, she said she was taken to the police headquarters for questioning and that when police discovered the law was on her side they couldn’t do anything.

“The police who claimed they came from Abuja said I have committed threat to life of Ajagawa unlawful restrain and trespass. They invited me to the police headquarters in Benin for questioning”.

She said after showing police the restraining court injunction of July 8, from Abuja Federal High Court against Ajagbawa and his group, the police couldnot do anything.

Osibodu said “till date I have not received any official document from the BPE or BEDC board mandating anybody to take over BEDC affairs but somebody just marched to the office and said, I have been asked to take over, this is not law”.

“From the record, there is no official document, written to the board of BEDC that I have been removed, but what we see was in pages of newspaper that we have been removed and that is not how law works”

She alleged that somebody is using his office to suppress the rule of law, adding because they didn’t succeed in the initial take over, they resorted to self help through any means.

“The case is that sometimes ago, there was supposedly take over of five DISCO announced by BPE, three of them was because Fidelity bank claimed that they are going to exercise their right over shares and BPE knows that Fidelity doesn’t have the shares of BEDC as the cover investor never pledged BEDC shares” she said.