The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has pulled the plug on the entire board of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, citing a litany of failures that pushed the utility to the brink. In a regulatory order dated August 10, 2026, signed by Chairman Musliu Oseni and Legal Commissioner Dafe Akpeneye, the regulator dissolved the board with immediate effect, removing every director from office under Section 75 of the Electricity Act.
Stepping into the vacuum is a seven-member interim special board, a mix of engineers, retired military brass, and public enterprise officials. The lineup includes Dr. Abdullahi Garba, Engr. Francis U. Agoha, Mr. Aliyu E. Aliyu, Major General Henry E. Ayamasaowei (rtd.), Dr. Haliru Dikko, Mr. Ayodeji A. Gbeleyi representing the Bureau of Public Enterprises, and Dr. Abubakar Umar Hashidu. Notably, Hashidu, who was the Managing Director and CEO, now wears a second hat as Administrator for an initial six-month term, a stint the Commission says is open to review.
The decision was anything but sudden. NERC painted a grim picture of a company drowning in regulatory and market defaults, starved of investment, and hobbled by weak operational and commercial performance. The utility’s assets, the regulator argued, are simply not enough to cover its liabilities, and no credible roadmap to recovery was ever put on the table. In plain terms, the board had run out of runway.
NERC also moved to lock the doors against any backdoor maneuvers. The Corporate Affairs Commission has been formally notified of the dissolution, and during the special transition period, no changes to shareholding, directorship, or constitutional records will be registered without the regulator’s explicit written consent. For now, the fate of Kaduna DisCo rests in the hands of a caretaker team tasked with stopping the bleeding and charting a path forward.
