The House of Representatives on Tuesday directed management of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc to immediately deregister the NBET Finance Company Plc illegally registered using the names of two private individuals unknown to the extant law.
Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Rep. Abiodun James Faleke issued the directive during the resumed review of the revenue monitoring exercise of MDAs between 2023 and 2025.
According to the NBET managing Director, Mr Johnson Akinnawo, NBET Finance Company Plc was registered as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) sponsored by NBET pursuant to policy directives from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
He also confirmed that all the expenses involved in the registration of the SPV were solely borne by NBET.
He explained that the proposal to register the SPV was approved because the Federal Government wanted a fresh company that has zero debt to be able to approach the capital market to raise the bond.
He added that the idea to register the SPV was to raise funds and pay the liabilities of GENCOs, just as he confirmed that the Federal Government guarantees the N4 trillion power sector debt programme to settle verified unpaid invoices owed to the GENCOs from February 2015 to March 2025.
Akinnawo disclosed that two lawyers engaged to carry out the incorporation of the NBET Finance Company Plc are the only shareholders at an 80-20 ratio of the new company.
According to him, one of the shareholders, who was a lawyer, Chidiebere, holds the largest percentage shares, while another individual holds one per cent share of the NBET Finance Company Plc.
According to the report submitted by the NBET Managing Director, the registration of the controversial NBET Finance Company Plc was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Unsatisfied with his explanation, the lawmakers, including Hon. Wole Oke, requested all the relevant approvals and communication.
The lawmakers who expressed grave concern over the steps taken so far argued that NBET should have used the names of persons known to the law, such as the Managing Director of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), as subscribers for a public entity.
Speaking further, Rep. Faleke faulted the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for failing to do due diligence before registering the NBET Finance Company Plc as a public entity in the name of private individuals.
He also chided the CAC helmsman for registering a company on behalf of NIPOST with the names of individual shareholders who later invited the new management of NIPOST to give an account of the company.