By Abiola Olawale
Amid the earlier disconnection threat by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, has cried out over the decomposition of corpses in military mortuaries.
The COAS noted that the blackout experience in various barracks across the country have begun to take toll on the army as corpses stored at the mortuaries are now decomposing.
Lagbaja who spoke during a visit to the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, appealed for the liquidation of the N42bn electricity debt of the Nigerian Army.
Lagbaja, in a statement issued in Abuja by the media aide to the power minister, Bolaji Tunji, said the main reason for his visit was to discuss the consequences of the power outage in Army formations and the way forward.
According to Lagbaja, some barracks and cantonments had been in total blackout since January.
The statement reads, “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 (Lagbaja) further stated that the army couldn’t raise funds to pay the entire debt, as he solicited liquidation as was done in 2005 by the then President.”
Responding, Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with the power distribution companies to relieve the Nigerian Army of its electricity debt burden amounting to N42bn.
The minister said power outages were not peculiar to army barracks but a national issue, adding that the Discos and Gencos were profit-oriented organisations.
“We can only plead with them to adopt a repayment plan monthly instead of embedding the whole debt in their meter,” Adelabu stated.
He charged the army to continue assisting the ministry in safeguarding power facilities across the country and pledged to seek collaboration for the army through any of the development partners for the installation of solar PVs and Battery Energy Storage Systems as alternative power supply sources in army barracks and cantonments.
The New Diplomat reports that the debt became known to the public after the AEDC published the outstanding bill on a national daily.
According to the commission, about 86 ministries, agencies and departments of government are owing electricity bills to the tune of N47bn.
Breakdown of the public notice by the management of the AEDC, revealed that the Presidential Villa owes the DisCo the sum of N923.9m; the National Security Adviser owes N95.9bn; the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory being supervised by Nyesom Wike owes the sum of N7.57bn, while Adebayo Adelabu’s Ministry of Power is indebted to the tune of N78m.
