After Otedola’s Exit, Geregu Power appoints serving senator as board chairman

Geregu Power Plc has appointed serving Nigerian senator Abdul-Aziz Abubakar Yari as chairman of its board, a move that has raised immediate legal and governance questions following billionaire investor Femi Otedola’s exit from the power company.

The appointment was disclosed on Monday in a regulatory filing to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), which confirmed a sweeping board overhaul after a change in the ownership of Geregu’s majority shareholder. Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, is currently a sitting senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The development comes after Otedola divested his indirect controlling interest in Geregu Power through the sale of his stake in Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, the company’s majority shareholder. The transaction transferred effective control to MA’AM Energy Ltd, a Nigerian energy firm, while leaving Geregu’s publicly traded shareholding structure unchanged.

At a board meeting held on December 29, Geregu approved Yari’s appointment as board chairman alongside several new non-executive and independent directors. Otedola resigned as chairman the same day, alongside the company’s chief executive officer, Akin Akinfemiwa, deputy chief executive officer, and multiple board members.

Scrutiny over Appointment

While Geregu’s filing presents the appointments as part of a routine governance transition following a change in ownership, the naming of a serving senator as board chairman has drawn scrutiny because Nigerian law places restrictions on the private-sector roles that public officers may hold.

Under Nigeria’s Constitution and the Fifth Schedule Code of Conduct for Public Officers, public office holders are prohibited from managing or running private businesses, or from holding positions such as director or chairman of a private company, with a narrow exception for farming. The provisions are designed to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure separation between public duty and private commercial activity.

The Geregu filing does not address how Yari’s appointment aligns with these constitutional and ethical requirements, nor does it state whether any waivers, resignations, or compliance steps have been taken.

Pluboard was unable to immediately reach officials of the Nigerian Exchange, the Code of Conduct Bureau, or Geregu Power for clarification on the regulatory status of the appointment. Senator Yari could also not be reached for comment.

Geregu Power is one of Nigeria’s most valuable listed companies, with a market capitalisation of about ₦2.85 trillion and a generation capacity of roughly 435 megawatts, supplying close to 10% of electricity to the national grid. The company has been a flagship asset in Nigeria’s post-privatisation power sector and a major dividend payer on the NGX.