There is confusion over the alleged takeover of ownership at Ikeja Electric, Egbin Power (KEPCO Energy Resources), and Independent Power Limited by Nigerian banks and other parties over debt.

There are reports that a Lagos High Court presided over by Justice Akintayo Aluko handed a receivership ruling on August 5, 2025, to the power firms based on their debt agreement in 2013 in suits Nos., FHC/L/CS/1242, FHC/L/CS/1244, and FHC/L/CS/1245.

However, in a statement by Ikeja Electric chief legal and regulatory officer, Babatunde Osadare, he dismissed the report that the companies slid into receivership.

According to him, the court ruling rather 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.

Meanwhile, as the confusion lingers, the development worsens Nigeria’s power sector crisis since the 2013 privatisation processes.

UGAMATV reports that outside Ikeja Electric, five Nigerian electricity distribution companies are already under receivership, including Abuja, Benin, Kaduna, Kano, and Ibadan.

Intervene urgently to prevent complete collapse of the National Power Ecosystem – CPPE

Reacting to the development, the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise asked the federal government to intervene to save the power sector from collapse.

In a statement on Wednesday by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, he said the report of Ikeja Electric receivership highlights the continued challenges within the country’s power sector, which he described as a ‘troubling conundrum’.

According to him, the crisis in the sector stemmed from a flawed privatisation process, limited technical and financial capacity of the power distribution firms, problematic pricing, and tariff structures.

He said the ultimate victims of a power sector collapse are citizens, industries, and investors.

The economic think tank, therefore, urged that, “Given the power sector’s strategic importance, 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,” CPPE stated.