President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Dr. Adesegun Olugbade as the Chairman of the Board and Abdu Bello as the Managing Director of the newly established Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
The appointments, announced on Wednesday by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, also include the selection of executive and non-executive board members for the operator.
Among the executive directors appointed are Nafisatu Ali for Systems Operation, Shehu Abba-Aliyu for Systems Planning, Dr. Edmund Eje for Market Operations, and Mr. Babajide Ibironke for Finance and Corporate Services.
For non-executive directors, the board includes Lamu Audu representing Generation, Mrs. Folake Soetan for Distribution, Mr. Tajudeen Giwa-Osagie as Market Expert, Sule Abdulaziz for Transmission, and Mahmuda Mamman, who serves as the Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Power.
Onanuga stated that the appointments align with the mandates of the Electricity Act of 2023, which requires the unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) into two entities: the Transmission System Provider and the Independent System Operator.
“These appointments follow a memorandum from Vice President Kashim Shettima and a rigorous selection process conducted by the Independent Board Nomination Committee in collaboration with Phillips Consulting Limited,” Onanuga explained.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) officially established NISO on April 30, 2024, to enhance efficiency in the country’s power transmission network. The National Council on Privatisation will finalize the recruitment process, while the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated each hold equal equity shares in NISO.
