By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The last may not have been heard of the leadership tussle at the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), also referred to as Eko DisCo, as the Director and Chairman of the company’s Legal & Regulatory Committee, Mr Babor Egeregor, has maintained that Ms Tinuade Sanda remains the chief executive of the firm.
Recall that on Tuesday, it was reported that Ms Sanda was redeployed to WPG Limited in compliance with a directive of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The Chairman of EKEDC, Mr Dere Otubu, had announced the removal of Ms Sanda from office, and the appointment of Mrs Rekiat Momoh as the acting chief executive of the energy company.
But in another statement on Wednesday, Mr Egeregor emphasised that the chairman does not have the sole authority to remove Ms Sanda from office, stressing that she remains the substantive leader of the management team.
He alleged that Ms Sanda incurred the wrath of Mr Otubu after she queried the Chairman’s ally and others involved in an alleged employment scandal.
“There are no doubts about a deliberate agenda and unconcealed mischief to misread the orders of the NERC to malign Dr Sanda’s reputation for daring to escalate and issue queries to Wola Joseph Condotti for alleged fraud through the use of ghost workers for 3 years, and continuous payment of salaries to exited staffs despite personally receiving their resignation letters.
“Similar queries were issued to Sheri Adegbenro, the Chief Audit and Compliance Officer, and Aik Alenkhe, the Chief Human Resources Officers respectively for their failure and gross negligence to audit and detect fraudulent payments on the payroll for over 3 years,” a part of the statement made available to Business Post read.
In reaction to the appointment of Mrs Momoh as the Acting MD/CEO, Mr Egeregor said, “The board of EKEDC, on which I sit, has neither met nor decided on the purported appointment of Mrs Rekiah Momoh as Acting.MD/CEO, except Mr Otubu and his close circle of colleagues, have transformed themselves into the board.
“I and all well-meaning members of the EKEDC board, I believe, should vehemently distance themselves from this contrivance.
“The board is not a one-man show, and matters are to be collectively deliberated on and approved by board members. Mrs Momoh is the Chief Commercial Officer of EKEDC and remains so.”