The Edo State Government has refuted claims suggesting it owns a five percent equity in Ossiomo Power Company, insisting it is merely a customer of the private electricity provider.

The clarification came after the shutdown of Ossiomo Power on September 1, following a dispute between its Nigerian stakeholders and Chinese partner, Jiangsu Communication Clean Energy Technology (CCETC). The 95-megawatt plant had been supplying power to government offices, streetlights, the state secretariat, media houses, and several private organisations.

With operations halted, more than 100 subscribers—including state government facilities—have indicated plans to reconnect to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting, Director-General of the Edo State Electrification Agency, Saturday Omozokpea Egbadon, stressed that government records confirm no ownership interest in Ossiomo.

“We are simply their customers. We pay for power like every other subscriber. The state holds no shares in Ossiomo Power and had no involvement in their internal crisis,” he explained, adding that the government has already switched about 80 percent of its facilities to a dedicated BEDC supply line.

Egbadon noted that while the state provided the 11kva lines for Ossiomo subscribers, the firm never formally notified authorities about its challenges.

Meanwhile, BEDC’s Chief Technical Officer, Kingsley Achengbu, assured affected subscribers of steady electricity supply as they return to the distribution company’s network.

The dispute between Ossiomo and its foreign partners remains unresolved, raising concerns about the future of the independent power project that had been seen as a model for alternative electricity supply in Edo.