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.
Caught Off Guard
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.
- “When I saw the NERC statement, I went to her and said, ‘What is this?'” a well-placed insider revealed.
- “She said she was not aware. She said her phone had been ringing off the hook. She called it power play, but the board told her not to panic.”
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.
The KYL Test Nobody Passed
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.
A Five-Year Throne War
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.
Babor Egeregor, the company’s Legal Director and Chairman of its Legal and Regulatory Committee, publicly declared that Sanda remained MD/CEO calling her sacking a “vengeful revenge” against an executive who had dared to escalate an alleged fraud.
- “Dr. Tinuade Sanda remains the MD/CEO of Eko Electricity Distribution Company,” Egeregor said at the time, pointedly.
She was removed anyway. Sanda was redeployed to WPG Limited, and Mrs. Rekhiat Momoh was swiftly installed as Acting CEO. By November 2025, Momoh was confirmed in a substantive capacity, though with her appointment backdated. The confirmation lasted barely three months.
- In December 2025, TransGrid Enerco Limited completed its acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in EKEDP, in a deal valued at approximately N360 billion.
The consortium comprising Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Growth Fund, North-South Power Company Limited, and Axxela Limited wasted no time putting its own stamp on things. Momoh resigned, and in January 2026, Wola Joseph-Condotti was named interim CEO.
Now, she too has been displaced not by the board, but by the regulator.
What Happens Next
With NERC having effectively blocked Mrs. Joseph-Condotti’s confirmation, the path back to the top is narrow.
- “It is either her brother steps down from the board, or they find a political solution,” one industry source told Nairametrics bluntly. “Until then, she will likely be on the sidelines.”
And yet, on the ground, things remain strangely civil. Staff who spoke to Nairametrics, under the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, say Mrs. Joseph-Condotti has continued showing up to work daily and remains well-liked within the organisation.
- What is more, she and Ms. Adegbenro share a history: Adegbenro previously reported to Joseph-Condotti, and by all accounts, the two remain close.
For now, a woman who didn’t know she was CEO is running a company whose previous CEO doesn’t seem to know she isn’t anymore.
At Eko Disco, the lights may flicker, but the drama never goes out.
