The $750 million transaction that reshaped possession at Geregu Energy has executed greater than alter a shareholder register. It has positioned Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari, a former governor and senior determine in Nigerian politics, on the heart of one of the vital intently adopted company shifts on the Nigerian Alternate, drawing consideration to the position of discreet capital and politically linked traders within the nation’s largest listed firms.
The deal marked the exit of billionaire Femi Otedola because the controlling shareholder of Geregu Energy, an organization he helped flip right into a bellwether for Nigeria’s energy sector. With Yari on the helm, MA’AM Power Restricted acquired a 77 percent stake in Geregu Power, taking on the oblique controlling curiosity beforehand held by Otedola and Calvados International Companies. Otedola retained a 1.05 % stake, sustaining a restricted presence within the firm.
Earlier than the transaction was accomplished, MA’AM Energy had already acquired a 95 % fairness curiosity in Amperion Energy Distribution Firm Restricted, the special-purpose car via which Otedola held most of his Geregu shares. That earlier transfer successfully positioned Yari’s agency because the incoming controlling shareholder, setting the stage for the formal switch introduced to the market.
Geregu possession shift attracts market eyes
For traders, the change issues as a result of Geregu Energy has turn into a reference level for Nigeria’s energy firms. The corporate has an put in capability of 435 megawatts and stays one of the vital actively monitored energy shares on the change. Otedola first took management of the plant in 2013 via Amperion Energy and led its itemizing in 2022, making Geregu the primary power-generating firm to go public in Nigeria. At itemizing, Amperion held 95.56 % of the corporate, underlining the size of management that has now shifted.
Yari’s path to this place didn’t start in company boardrooms. He began his working life as a instructor earlier than constructing a political profession that has spanned greater than 20 years. He holds {qualifications} in public administration, finance and funding administration, together with a grasp’s diploma from the College of Salford and a Certificates in Management and Change from the London College of Economics, alongside his early Islamic and formal schooling.
His political profession started in 1999, when he served as secretary of the All Nigeria Folks’s Occasion, later changing into chairman of the social gathering in Zamfara State and its nationwide monetary secretary. In 2007, he was elected to the Home of Representatives, representing Anka and Talata Mafara, earlier than profitable the governorship of Zamfara State in 2011. He was re-elected in 2015 underneath the All Progressives Congress and that very same yr was chosen by fellow governors to chair the Nigeria Governors’ Discussion board.
After leaving workplace, Yari gained the Zamfara West senatorial seat in 2019, although the election was later overturned by the Supreme Courtroom over irregular social gathering primaries. Regardless of that setback, he returned to nationwide legislative relevance and, in August 2023, was appointed chairman of the Senate committee on Water Assets within the tenth Senate.
Yari chairs fast-growing Geregu
Now appointed chairman of Geregu Energy, Yari steps into an organization reporting sturdy numbers. Geregu posted an 82 % bounce in pre-tax revenue for the three months to September, reaching N11.2 billion ($7.62 million), in response to unaudited figures. Income for the quarter rose 37 % to N43.8 billion ($30.2 million). Over 9 months, income climbed to N131.5 billion ($89.46 million), whereas pre-tax revenue reached N37.5 billion ($25.51 million), supported by larger energy era and improved pricing.
