By Kayode Sanni-Arewa, Abuja
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) has said that the Clerk to the National Assembly, Ojo Olatunde Amos, the Nigeria Police Force, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS), also known as State Security Services (SSS), owe a total of N3,416,204,222 in electricity bill.
The AEDC said this on Monday in a disconnection notice where it threatened to disconnect the electricity supply of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, along with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) over a total electricity debt of N47.1 billion.
According to the electricity distribution company, the Clerk to the National Assembly owes the sum of N1,093,056,370, while the Nigeria Police Force owes the sum of N1,383,222,250.
It further stated that the anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission owes N291,297,171 while Nigeria’s secret police, DSS office in Abuja owes the sum of N648,628,431.
The company said the Presidential Villa owed the sum of N923,873,150 as an outstanding debt for electricity charges.
The electricity distribution company in the document stated that it was constrained to publish the details of the debts which had lasted for long for the services rendered.
The AEDC stressed that the publication of the unpaid electricity bill became imperative because its “previous attempts to make them honour their obligations have not achieved the desired result”.
In a disconnection notice on Monday, the AEDC listed the outstanding electricity debts of government ministries, departments and agencies as of December 2023.
It gave the MDAs 10 days to comply and pay their debts or risk disconnection and subsequent blackout from February 28, 2024.
According to the electricity distribution company, the Clerk to the National Assembly owes the sum of N1,093,056,370, while the Nigeria Police Force owes the sum of N1,383,222,250.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said that the Nigerian government paid the sum of N2.8 trillion to subsidise electricity consumed in the country from 2015 to 2022 under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
It was been reported that President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government claimed it cannot continue to subsidise electricity because of huge debts already incurred.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who made this known during a press conference in Abuja said that the country must begin to move towards a cost-effective tariff model, as the country owes up to N1.3 trillion to generating businesses (GenCos).
The minister further stated that just N450 billion was funded for subsidies this year, even though the ministry required more than N2 trillion in subsidies.
He added that state governments would now be able to generate power independently to supply power to their respective states.
Adelabu stated that the grid collapsed six times between December 2023 and last week due to a lack of gas, ageing machines in the grid value chain, insufficient capacity to evacuate generated power, and the destruction of power stations in some parts of the country’s North-East geopolitical zone.
According to the power minister, the Transmission Commission of Nigeria (TCN) has over 100 abandoned projects due to discrepancies in contract figures caused by FX volatility, adding that the business will not grant new contracts until all such projects are completed.