Abdulaziz Yari set for $12 million Geregu Power dividend

Geregu Power Plc, one of Nigeria’s most valuable listed power generators, is preparing to pay shareholders a dividend that puts fresh attention on its new majority owners and the money now riding on the deal.

The company has proposed a cash dividend of N9 per share ($0.00635) for the 2025 financial year, a payout that totals N22.5 billion ($15.87 million) and is subject to shareholder approval at its annual meeting, according to a regulatory filing.

Geregu’s ownership has just been reshaped by a takeover that shifted effective control to Ma’am Energy Ltd., the Abuja based firm linked to businessman Abdulaziz Yari. The transaction resulted in a change in ultimate beneficial ownership of 77% of Geregu’s issued share capital, following Ma’am Energy’s acquisition of 95% of Amperion Power Distribution Co., the holding vehicle through which billionaire investor Femi Otedola held the controlling stake.

In December last year, Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo Plc, sold the majority stake in Geregu to Ma’am Energy in a deal valued at $750 million, with lenders led by Zenith Bank Plc facilitating the transaction and BlackBirch Capital serving as financial adviser.

Ma’am Energy now holds 1,925,000,000 shares. At N9 per share ($0.00635), that translates to a dividend take of N17,325,000,000 ($12.22 million) at an exchange rate of N1,418 to $1. While on paper, MA’AM Energy Limited is jointly owned by four individuals, credible sources inform Billionaires.Africa that the beneficial owner of the company is Abdulaziz Yari, who also serves as a Senator in Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly.

The proposed distribution is also bigger than last year’s. The company said the dividend represents a 5.9% increase from the prior year’s payout, a sign of confidence at a time when Nigerian corporates are still navigating high financing costs, currency volatility and uneven consumer demand.

Geregu’s filing said the dividend recommendation followed a board meeting where directors approved the audited financial statements. The company also said an earlier closed period for insiders trading in the stock will be lifted 24 hours after the audited accounts are released, a standard step on the road to final shareholder sign off.

Geregu’s financial performance helps explain why it can afford to write a larger dividend check. The company reported profit after tax of N25.1 billion ($17.70 million) for the first nine months of 2025, up 3.8% from a year earlier. Revenue climbed 16.8% to N131.5 billion ($92.74 million), while profit before tax rose to N37.5 billion ($26.45 million). The company also reported total assets of N273.2 billion ($192.67 million).

Those figures come from a business that sits at the sharp end of Nigeria’s economic constraints. Geregu runs a gas fired plant in Kogi State and has earned a reputation among investors for relatively steady output, though all generators face the same structural headaches: gas supply interruptions, payment bottlenecks in the electricity value chain and transmission limits that can cap how much power ultimately reaches customers.

If shareholders approve the payout, the near term winners are clear. Ma’am Energy will take the largest bite, and the dividend will serve as an early scoreboard for one of the most closely watched power sector ownership changes in recent years.