The Asset Management Company of Nigeria has confirmed the sale of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.

Gbenga Alake, managing director and chief executive officer of AMCON, revealed the details of the transaction during a media briefing with journalists on Thursday.

In April 2024, the federal government announced plans to sell five electricity distribution companies managed by banks and AMCON.

Ibadan DisCo, which was under AMCON’s management, is among the five companies listed for sale. Others include the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company.

During the briefing, Alake stated that the company was sold for N100 billion.

He mentioned that AMCON would soon transfer the company to the preferred bidder.

“Today, I announce to you that Ibadan DisCo has been sold. When we came in, it has already been sold. It was sold for how much?” Alake said.

“We got in and said no, it cannot be. We said they should go and submit a new offer that we were not going to sell for that.

“At the end of the day, we got almost double of what Ibadan DisCos was going to be sold for.”

He explained that the sale has sparked legal disputes, with “so many interests now fighting and writing”.

Alake maintained that despite the matter being in court, AMCON remains confident that the process was properly handled.

“We have sold it… and whatever is still happening in court, we will face it,” he said.

On May 15, reports emerged that the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust, a civil society group, had filed a suit at the federal high court in Abuja against AMCON, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, and Ibadan DisCo over an alleged planned sale of a 60 percent stake in the company for $62 million.

The civil society group, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/866/2025, described the sale as “secretive and illegal,” claiming the price was “corruptly undervalued”.

The group also argued that the transaction would result in a $107 million loss compared to the $169 million paid for the same stake during the 2013 privatisation of Ibadan DisCo.

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has called on those opposing President Bola Tinubu’s administration to stop using Nigerians, insisting that only the Peoples Democratic Party has the capacity to contest against Tinubu in 2027.

He made this statement during his monthly media briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

Wike criticised the claims that Nigerians were angry, pointing out that those in the coalition were once in government and failed to improve the lives of citizens.

“I heard David Mark say, to rescue Nigeria; Nigerians are angry. David Mark was Senate President for how many terms? Two terms, is it not? Nigerians were happy. Nigerians were happy when he was Senate President for eight years. And there was no single project to Otukpo; not one. He was flying with helicopter to go to Otukpo. Nigerians were not angry then, Nigerians are only angry now.

“When Rotimi Amaechi was Minister for eight years, Nigerians were not angry. When Nigeria became indebted, Chinese loan, Nigerians were happy. It’s now Nigerians are angry. I saw Seriake (Dickson). They are saying Nigerians are angry. They want to rescue Nigeria. So I’m asking this simple question. What happened to Air Nigeria? Nigerians were happy then.

“When they went to APC in 2015 and took over the reins of power in 2023, Nigerians were happy. Was it under Tinubu’s government that banditry came? Tambuwal, you were Speaker for four years. What did you do to make Nigerians not to be angry? You were a governor in Sokoto State,” he said.

Wike said he could only accept the claim that Nigerians were angry if it came from people who had never been in power, adding that Tinubu is taking steps to improve the nation’s condition.

“When you want to go to power, tell us. If there are people who have not been in power in this country, who are coming with such an idea, I can listen to them. But not people who were the ones at the helms of affairs of this country for how many years? Look at where this country is. If this President did not take certain decisions he has taken, which may be very challenging, you would have known where we would have been by now.

“A president came and said it’s a scam; took that bold step, we will not allow that. States are getting more money. Nigerians are angry that states are getting more money. Nigerians are angry that we are providing infrastructure in Abuja. I cannot say that there are no challenges. There are challenges. But for Christ’s sake, stop using Nigerians,” he stated.

He also said that only the PDP could effectively compete with President Tinubu in 2027 if the party organises itself properly, noting that the opposition has already weakened itself.

“The opposition have even decimated themselves. Let me tell you why I said so, now you are talking about coalition. What is the coalition? The only party today, that if they put themselves well, can still challenge this government, assuming, is PDP,” Wike said.

He also remarked that Nigerians keep recycling the same leaders because they base their votes on ethnic and religious sentiments instead of evaluating candidates’ records.

“It’s your business, you the voters. Let me tell you something. I’m the FCT Minister today, is it not true? Right? If I’m supporting a party to win the election, I should be able to stand and say, this is why you should support. Tell me whether this is correct or not? You are the one to say, yes. I’ve seen what you said. I’m going to vote for that. But you, the voter, you don’t do that. You vote on ethnicity. You vote on religion,” he said.

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre recorded N650 million in revenue within three weeks of its launch.

During a media parley on Thursday, Wike explained that the conference centre underwent a complete renovation, noting that “the only thing that we didn’t do in that structure was to bring the whole thing down”.

He mentioned that prior to the renovation, the conference centre generated only N50 million annually for the FCT.

“Now let me tell you how this country works. The man they gave it (conference centre) to was paying N50 million to the FCT every year. That place was commissioned on June 10, and the revenue made within three weeks was N650 million. Why? People love good things,” he stated.

He added that the facility hosted the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heads of state, with positive remarks from ambassadors. According to him, the venue has become highly sought after.

“In fact, there’s no space. As I speak, it has been booked up to 2027.”

Wike recalled facing criticism from politicians and senior government officials when he initially closed the centre.

“The country we’re in is a place that if you begin to pay attention to frivolities, you won’t achieve anything,” he said.

“And now you’re saying, why did I name it after Tinubu. Who should I name it after? Who is more qualified?”

The FCT administration had faced backlash for spending N39 billion to renovate the conference centre.

Wike was also criticised for naming the revamped centre after the president.