Power distribution companies have decried the persistent non-payment of electricity bills by the military and government ministries, departments, and agencies, stressing that this is also responsible for the challenges facing the country’s power sector.

They also threatened to sue the military following the vandalism of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company by armed Air Force men.

The Executive Director of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, disclosed this while reacting to Thursday’s attack on the headquarters of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.

Our correspondent, who was caught in the attack, recounted how he was physically assaulted by the armed men, who also took his phones away.

At about 7:40 am on Thursday, the armed men in military trucks invaded Ikeja Electric in Alausa, a stone’s throw from the office of the Lagos State Governor.

Aside from beating staff and anyone within and outside the premises, our correspondent reports that equipment and property worth millions of naira were vandalised and some taken away by the Air Force personnel to the Sam Ethnan Air Force Base in Ikeja.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on the incident, Oduntan said, “We will take all possible legal action, and if we do not get justice, we will report it to the world. The whole world has to know. There can’t be a resolution without restitution. They have destroyed properties worth billions of naira. They have to fish out the culprits.”

He said it was time to name and shame all government institutions that had refused to pay their bills despite the efforts being made by President Bola Tinubu to clear the debts.

According to him, the debts owed by these institutions are in billions of naira, yet they keep enjoying electricity. Oduntan said the military has a penchant for not paying for electricity, thinking it is their right.

“The time has come to start naming and shaming all these MDAs that are not ready to pay. They owe millions of naira. Their refusal to pay is affecting the power sector adversely; it is killing our business. Unless people begin to pay as and when due, Nigeria will not get there.

This current President believes in the payment of MDA debts.

“He does not believe Aso Rock should be owing any debt; and when we threatened to disconnect the Aso Rock Villa last year due to arrears owed by previous governments, the President instructed them to pay in full, and they did. They’ve been paying consistently since then. That’s the sign of a good President who knows the meaning of bill payment and the sustainability of the value chain.

“But we still have a lot of agencies that do not pay electricity bills, and these military people are the major culprits. That’s why the Air Force Base in Ikeja is now a case in focus. They owe us N4.3bn, and they still came to beat us. A debtor tortured the creditor.

“We have to educate these people that electricity cannot be free; electricity is a product. These people need to understand that. There’s a lot of ignorance out there. The debts of the MDAs are in the billions because they are too many,” Oduntan said.

He emphasised that the military and other indebted government agencies are the ones responsible for Nigeria’s epileptic power supply. He noted that if the Discos couldn’t collect their tariffs, the sector would face serious financial constraints that would hinder power generation, transmission, and distribution.

According to him, attacks like the one from the Nigerian Air Force are one of the reasons investors would run away from the sector.




https://punchng.com/discos-threaten-to-sue-military-for-vandalising-ikedc/