Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja has revealed that Corpses within Nigerian Army barracks’ mortuaries are decomposing due to a prolonged power outage caused by a N42 billion debt owed to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
Gen Lagbaja, revealed the grim reality during a visit to Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, seeking urgent intervention.
Recall that AEDC had issued a 10-day notice to 83 MDAs, including military installations, to settle their N47.1 billion debt or face disconnection. Chief Bola Tinubu resolved Aso Rock’s outstanding debt, but many barracks remain in darkness since January.
Lt. General Lagbaja emphasised the impossibility of the Army raising funds to clear the entire debt and appealed for a resolution similar to the 2005 intervention by the then President. He expressed concerns about corpses in Army mortuaries decaying, leading to protests from the bereaved families.
“Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically… Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting,” he stated.
He assured the Minister of the army’s unflinching support towards developing intelligence strategies in curbing the menace of electricity infrastructure vandalism.
Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with DisCos to find a way out of the problem.
According to the Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the minister, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu reiterated the importance of liquidity and funding in the sector, adding if the debts could not be written off, he would intervene in order to restructure the debt payment if there was assurance of regular payment by the Nigerian Army.
He further revealed that debt owed by distribution and Generating Companies (GENCOs) is not the only challenge bedevilling the Power sector, adding that vandalization of power infrastructure which often lead to National grid collapse, theft, inefficiency in billing and collection process, poor metering gap, liquidity, shortage in gas supply, transmission stations being blown up with explosives in volatile areas are all part of the issues being experienced in the Power sector.
“The fundamental issues in the power sector value chain could be traced back to the last 50 years and a government which is barely eight months cannot use a magic wand to proffer solution. There is a saying that you won’t know what is happening in Rome until you get to Rome,” he stressed.
READ ALSO: AEDC Issues 10-Day Ultimatum to 86 MDAs to Pay N47.1bn Debt or Face Disconnection
The Minister who acknowledged that Power outages is not peculiar to army barracks but a national issue said the DISCOs and GENCOs are profit-oriented organizations.
“We can only plead with them to adopt a repayment plan on a monthly basis instead of embedding the whole debt in their meter,” he articulated.
While encouraging the Army to continue assisting the Ministry in safeguarding power facilities across the nation, the Minister pledged to seek collaboration for the Army through any of the development partners for installation of Solar PVs and Battery Energy Storage System(BESS) as alternative power supply in Army barracks and cantonments.
