Business
Tony Elumelu’s Transcorp Acquires 60% Stake In Abuja DisCo
Published
2 years agoon
By
Editor
In a strategic move, that further consolidates Transcorp’s position within the Nigerian power sector, Transnational Corporation (Transcorp Plc), Transcorp has acquired a 60 percent interest in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, one of Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies, DisCos.
Serial entrepreneur and proponent of Africapitalism, Mr. Tony Elumelu is the Group Chairman of Transcorp. Elumelu is also the Group Chairman of UBA Plc and Founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation.
With the acquisition which is in line with Transcorp Group’s commitment to improving lives and transforming societies, the Board of AEDC has appointed the Managing Director/CEO of Transcorp Power Limited, Christopher Ezeafulukwe, as the new Managing Director/CEO of AEDC.
Ezeafulukwe is expected to deepen investment targeted at improving the supply of electricity to households, businesses and government institutions in the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Kogi and Nasarawa States.
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Prior to his appointment as the MD/CEO of AEDC, Ezeafulukwe was the MD/CEO of Transcorp Power Ltd, Ughelli, a 972-MW thermal plant.
Under his leadership, Transcorp Power Limited has consistently led the Nigerian power sector, being the first successor power company from the 2013 power privatization program, to be discharged from post-privatization monitoring by the National Council on Privatization, having surpassed the expectations of the Council.
However, in December 2021, the United Bank of Africa (UBA) took over AEDC over the inability of its major stakeholder, Kann Consortium, to service the $122 million debt owed to the bank.
Kann Consortium secured a loan from UBA to acquire AEDC in 2013, thus controlling a 60 percent stake in AEDC.
In April 2023, the bank’s plan to sell AEDC to recover the $122 million debt was approved by the National Council on Privatisation, a development which culminated in the emergence of the Transcorp-led Consortium, as the new strategic investor in AEDC.
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The news was received with great excitement by investors and the market, noting Transcorp Group’s track record in value creation, business transformation, and sound corporate governance practices.
The Ughelli Power plant, which Transcorp Group acquired during the privatisation of the power sector in 2013, demonstrates the Group’s transformative prowess.
The plant’s available capacity, which stood at 160 megawatts, MW on acquisition, increased by 227 percent to 680.83MW in four years, surpassing the Bureau of Public Enterprise’s, BPE, five-year target of 670MW.
In a notice published on the Nigerian Exchange (NGx) today, Transcorp noted that, “With Ezeafulukwe’s proven capabilities and extensive experience, he will play a pivotal role in rejuvenating AEDC, the supplier of power to the nation’s capital.
“Transcorp Group’s commitment to improving lives and transforming societies remains resolute,” The company noted.
The Group’s subsidiaries, including Transafam Power Limited and Transcorp Hotels Plc, owners of Transcorp Hilton Abuja have demonstrated continued value creation and a dedication to creating both economic and social wealth.
Transcorp Group has a combined market capitalization exceeding N540 billion.
Business
Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market
Published
2 days agoon
August 1, 2025By
Editor
The naira continued its appreciation against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.
Accordingly, the naira strengthened further to N1,533.18 against the dollar on Tuesday, from N1,534.21 traded the previous day.
This represents a gain of N1.03 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis and marks the second consecutive day of appreciation at the official FX market.
READ ALSO:Woman Arrested For Killing, Selling Pregnant Nurse’s Body Parts
Meanwhile, on the black market, the naira depreciated further to N1,545 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,537 traded on Monday.
Recall that the naira had similarly closed Monday’s trading session with mixed sentiments, recording gains at the official market but depreciating at the parallel market.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer.
A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.
Effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.
Our correspondent also observed that the CEO participated at the just concluded Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony.
The appointment signals the company’s renewed focus on scaling production, streamlining operations, and positioning itself as a dominant force in Africa’s refining and petrochemical landscape.
READ ALSO:Dangote Cement Gets New Chairman As Aliko Dangote Retires
The report read, “Nigeria’s Dangote Group has appointed the former head of Oman’s Duqm refinery as CEO of its petroleum and petrochemicals business as it strives to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.”
It, however, noted that the Dangote Group founder Aliko Dangote, will remain as chairman of the refining business and CEO of the wider conglomerate, which is also active in cement, fertilizers and sugar refining.
The business is expected to tap Bird’s experience expanding the Duqm refinery and diversifying its crude slate as CEO of OQ8, a role he adopted months before the Omani complex began its first test runs in 2023.
Commenting on his appointment, Bird said his focus at Dangote will involve advancing the group’s footprint beyond the Nigerian market and across the African continent.
As CEO of the refining business, he will be responsible for ensuring maximum output and efficiency for the refinery, and aims to make the group a leader in the global market, a LinkedIn update noted.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price
The appointment comes after a string of unit upsets and “design issues” that have stalled the ramp-up process of the 650,000-b/d refinery, while its leadership has called out a hostile business environment for challenging its operations.
Since it was commissioned in January 2024, Dangote has quickly grown its market share in the Nigerian fuel sector, displacing large volumes of gasoline imports that the country once relied on.
However, Aliko Dangote has railed against “rent-seeking” trade partners and substandard fuel imports for putting strain on the business.
In a previous interview with Platts, Bird emphasised a trading-led approach to achieve a competitive edge in the refining sector, with a focus on high utilisation rates, efficiency and feedstock flexibility.
His approach aligns with a recent shift from the Dangote complex to process a wider range of crude grades, partially spurred by limited availability of the Nigerian oil it was designed to process.
READ ALSO:World Bank Appoints Africa’s Richest Man, Dangote
However, the Nigerian refinery is still obliged to sell fixed volumes of its oil products into the domestic crude market under a naira-based trade agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, a 7.2 per cent stakeholder in the business.
As the Dangote Group eyes its next wave of growth, it plans to expand the capacity of the Lagos refinery to 700,000 barrels per day, build out port infrastructure and establish foreign storage assets in Namibia and other countries.
In August, it is set to roll out its own distribution business with a fleet of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks.
Dangote Group officials have also shared ambitions to list the refining business on the London and Lagos stock exchanges, and Aliko Dangote reiterated plans to take the business public.
READ ALSO:Dangote Petrol: MRS Increases Fuel Price
After years of setbacks and budget challenges, the speed of the refinery’s ramp-up in 2024 caught many analysts by surprise, and the complex quickly began exerting pressure on global oil benchmarks as it began exporting its products.
Yet despite beginning test runs on its main gasoline outlet, the residue fluid catalytic cracker, in Q3 2024, the company has since suffered repeated outages on the unit in 2025, forcing it to rely on its lower-yield reformer and sacrifice output over extended periods.
Speaking to Platts earlier in July, a Dangote executive said the RFCC was running at 85 per cent. He denied reports that the company will undergo a planned turnaround on the unit in December.
According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, Nigeria exported some 220,000 b/d of petroleum products in July 2025, when outages at NNPC facilities made Dangote the country’s only active refiner.
The complex exported 30,000 b/d of residual fuel, a refining byproduct which would normally be kept on site for further processing in the RFCC under normal operations.
Exports continue to be dominated by jet fuel, which accounted for 45 per cent of total shipments, and gasoil with a 24 per cent share.
Business
Petrol Tankers To Stop Loading Beyond 45,000 Litres By October 1 – IPMAN
Published
2 days agoon
August 1, 2025By
Editor
The Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said tankers will no longer load more than 45,000 litres of the product from October 1.
The Chairman of the zone, Chief Oyewole Akanni, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan on Friday.
Akanni stated that the measure was adopted in a joint meeting involving IPMAN, the government and other stakeholders, held to reduce the cases of petroleum tanker accidents.
The stakeholders, he said, are the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and oil marketers.
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He said, “Before now, some tankers carried up to 90,000 or 60,000 litres, which was dangerous.
“Those big tankers damage our roads, as the trucks are made to carry far more than they were designed for.
“And when overloaded, they become unstable and fall, causing accidents.”
Akanni stated that the government had also mandated all tankers to install safety covers that prevent spillage in the event of a crash.
“With these covers, even if a tanker falls, fuel won’t spill, except if the tank is punctured,” he said.
READ ALSO:Petrol Tanker Explodes In Ibadan
He, however, lamented the activities of vandals, who deliberately puncture fallen tankers to steal fuel, describing it as a major challenge.
The IPMAN chairman also said that PTD discovered that most accidents occurred at night due to fatigue.
“We have, therefore, instructed drivers not to drive at night.
“Once it is 7.00 p.m., they must park and continue their journey by 7.00 a.m. the next day, but some still disobey this directive,” he said.
READ ALSO:Petroleum Minister, Lokpobiri, Reveals When Fuel Will Be Available
Akanni assured that IPMAN would continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that tanker-related accidents were minimised.
He said that the spate of fatalities had triggered federal interventions, calling for stricter regulations, mass education, and enforced safety reforms.
According to Akanni, the incidents form part of a broader wave of tanker disasters across Nigeria.
“These are marked by systemic failures, including overloading, poor infrastructure, inadequate enforcement, alongside dangerous public practices like fuel scooping,” he said.
NAN
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