IKEJA Electric has dismissed media reports that the company has slipped into a receivership following a recent court ruling.

The company’s chief legal and regulatory officer, Babatunde Osadare, refuted this on behalf of management.

Some media reports had claimed that Kunle Ogunba, a senior advocate, has been appointed as receiver/manager over Ikeja Electric, and two other entities – Egbin Power Plc, and First Independent Power Limited (FIPL).

This followed rulings delivered on August 5, 2025, in Suit Nos. FHC/L/CS/1242, FHC/L/CS/1244, FHC/L/CS/1245 by Justice Akintayo Aluko.

Dismissing the media reports making the rounds, Osadare said the definitive court rulings at the Federal High Court in Lagos explicitly restrained the lenders and their purported receiver/manager from taking any adverse actions.

“We state unequivocally and for the record that Egbin Power Plc, First Independent Power Limited, and Ikeja Electric Plc are not in Receivership, and their assets, businesses, or undertakings are not under the management of any external Receiver/Manager whatsoever,” he said.

He maintained that the claims were not only false, but “represent a gross misrepresentation of facts and a malicious attempt at self-help designed to subvert the course of justice.”

According to Osadare, the rulings specifically prohibits the purported receiver/manager from accelerating the disputed loan facility before its maturity; interfering in any manner with the assets, businesses, or undertakings of the Power Entities, including operational accounts; enforcing any share security over the assets of the power rntities or their sponsors, based on the disputed debt; or unilaterally enforcing any finance documents related to the disputed debt.

“We therefore urge the general public, our valued customers, financial partners, regulators, and all stakeholders to completely disregard the falsehoods presented in the aforementioned This Day advertorials and any related, unfolding misleading press releases. The core matters referenced are actively being litigated, and the Lenders, represented by the purported Receiver/Manager, have formally submitted to the Court’s jurisdiction,” Osadare added.

Commenting on the development, the director/chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf, expressed concern that the report of Ikeja Electric receivership highlights the persistent challenges of the power sector, which he said has become a troubling conundrum.

He asserted these challenges stem from flawed privatisation processes, ageing equipment, limited technical and financial capacity of the power distribution firms.

It also stems from the problematic pricing and tariff structures, coupled with affordability concerns among the citizenry and an unsustainable subsidy regime.

He stressed that the result has been an acute liquidity crisis in the sector.

“There are additionally clear conflicts between the commercial objectives of private investors (DisCos and GenCos), the citizens’ desire for affordable electricity,  the quest by industrialists for an investment-friendly electricity tariff, and a politically acceptable tariff regime.

“The government’s obstruction and the citizens’ opposition to cost-reflective tariffs, despite demands from private investors in the sector, further complicate the situation.  This created numerous contradictions and conflicts that require careful and painstaking strategic resolution,” Yusuf stated.

According to the renowned economist, what has happened to the distribution companies (DisCos) is also partly a consequence of the prohibitive interest rate in the economy, given the high degree of leveraging of most of the DisCos.

“It is very difficult for any long-term project to survive the current excruciating lending rate in the economy,” the CPPE boss reflected.

He noted that Abuja, Benin, Kaduna, Kano, and Ibadan DisCos have slipped into receivership, urging that, given the power sector’s strategic importance, the government’s urgent intervention is imperative to prevent a complete collapse of the national power ecosystem.

“The power sector is not just a business; it is crucial for economic development, economic sustainability, and economic security.

“While a sustainable framework for power sector liquidity and subsidies is being developed, the government must take immediate steps to stabilise the sector,” Yusuf suggested.