In a statement released by Eko Electricity Distribution Plc (EKEDC) on Tuesday, 26 March 2024, signed by its board of directors, Mrs Rekhiat Momoh has been appointed the company’s acting chief executive officer. According to the statement, this follows the redeployment of its erstwhile managing director/chief executive officer, Ms. Tinuade Sanda, back to WPG Ltd, the core investor who seconded her to Eko Disco. “We wish to inform the general public that Mrs. Rekhiat Momoh has today 26th March 2024 assumed the role of Acting CEO of Eko Disco,” —stating that Momoh has been in the power sector for more than 31 meritorious years having risen through the ranks in the power sector since the era of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), and now Eko Disco, receiving several excellence awards, commendations, and medals along the way. The release also noted Momoh is “a marketer by training and has an MBA from Lagos State University. She’s a fellow of several organizations including the Nigeria Institute of Management, the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, and several others. She has attended several leadership and management courses and training programs both locally and internationally,”. The company’s board also projected its assurances to the public saying “We have great confidence in her ability to perform this role effectively and take the company to greater heights.”
Notably, the EKEDC on the same day at an earlier time, announced the removal of Tinuade Sanda as its MD/CEO. The termination was contained in a letter dated 25 March, addressed to Ms Sanda, and signed by the company’s chairman, Dere Otubu. The letter titled ‘Implementation of NERC Directive on Seconded Staff’ said the decision was due to directives from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and takes effect immediately. The NERC has directed it to ensure that all staff working for the utility are employed by the utility directly. The letter reads in part, “We have received a NERC directive dated 21 March which instructed Eko Electricity Distribution Plc inter alia, as follows: EKEDC is here directed to ensure that all staff working for the utility are employed by the utility directly, bound by applicable service conditions that are applicable to the employees of the utility and paid through the utilities payroll. It said the DisCo is obligated to obey these directives due to the powers of NERC as stipulated in the Electricity Act 2023. In compliance with the above directive, all seconded staff from WPG Ltd are being released by Eko Electricity Distribution Plc and returned to WPG Ltd. You are hereby relieved of your role, office, and position at Eko Electricity Distribution Plc effective immediately and returned to WPG Ltd your employer”.