Blog Details

There is rarely a dull moment at Eko Electricity Distribution Company.

Just when it seemed the dust had settled following a high-profile acquisition, the regulator stepped in unannounced and upended everything.

On Monday, March 23, 2026, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) dropped a bombshell on social media, quietly announcing the approval of Ms. Sherifat Adegbenro as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Eko Electricity Distribution PLC (EKEDP).

The post barely crossed 1,600 views, but its consequences reverberated far beyond a quiet Monday morning X scroll.

The announcement came barely two months after the newly installed owners, TransGrid Consortium, had appointed Wola Joseph-Condotti as interim CEO — a choice that, it now turns out, the regulator never signed off on.

In the space of five years, Eko Disco has now cycled through five CEOs. Four of them were women. And every single transition has been soaked in intrigue.

Here is where it gets dramatic; multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell Nairametrics that NERC’s announcement blindsided nearly everyone, including the woman it named as the new acting CEO.

Ms. Adegbenro, by all accounts, found out about her own appointment the same way the rest of Nigeria did, on X.

Meanwhile, a source within NERC was quick to push back, insisting the Commission did not impose any CEO that such a move would fall outside its mandate.

What that creates, then, is a striking and uncomfortable gap between Nigeria’s electricity regulator and the new private owners of one of the country’s largest distribution companies, who completed their N360 billion acquisition barely three months ago.

So why was Wola Joseph-Condotti blocked? Nairametrics can report that the answer lies in a regulatory compliance hurdle known as the Know Your Leader (KYL) test — a mandatory vetting process NERC requires all senior executives in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry to pass before confirmation.

The test assesses background, integrity, and operational fitness. Two weeks ago, according to a source, Mrs. Joseph-Condotti sat that test and is now understood by insiders, she did not pass.

The sticking point, according to multiple industry sources, is a conflict of interest, which suggests her brother is allegedly a sitting member of Eko Disco’s board of directors.

For a regulator already watching corporate governance in the sector with a hawk’s eye, that was a bridge too far.

The irony is not lost on anyone as Mrs. Joseph-Condotti is widely regarded as one of the more experienced hands in the sector, with over a decade of industry exposure.

Her LinkedIn profile and her reputation among peers paint the picture of someone more than qualified. Yet the conflict of interest allegation appears to have been enough for NERC to act and act decisively.

NERC declined to comment when contacted by Nairametrics.

To understand today, you have to go back because this story did not begin in January 2026.

It began in March 2022, when Dr. Tinuade Sanda assumed the helm as MD/CEO of EKEDP. What followed was a slow-burning battle for control that would consume the organisation for years.

By March 2024, the board moved to remove Sanda, citing alleged inconsistencies in her educational qualifications, suspicions of ghost workers, and what sources describe as pressure from powerful interests within the board itself. But the dismissal was fiercely contested. Dr. Sanda also denied the allegations.