Ghana resolves dispute with Nigeria over unpaid gas bill

The Ghanaian Government said it would pay a Nigerian gas consortium 170 million dollars it owed by February, apparently resolving a dispute that led the consortium to threaten to cut supply. Ghana’s state power generating company, the Volta River Authority, will settle the debt to Nigeria’s N-Gas in three tranches starting in November, said Kweku Sersah.

He is a spokesman for Ghana’s Ministry of Power. Sersah also said that the terms were still being finalised. “The high-powered delegation that went … (to the Nigerian capital Abuja) was able to negotiate for Nigeria Gas (N-Gas) to continue to supply the country the needed gas,” Sersah said in a statement.

Ghana’s government has promised to end crippling power blackouts by the end of the year. According to media report, Ghana gets around 25 per cent of its power through gas from Nigeria. The threat by N-Gas to reduce supplies by 70 per cent would have made it harder to achieve the government’s goal of tackling blackouts and raising the cost of supply.

The issue is sensitive in the run-up to Ghana’s election next year that is expected to be closely fought. Power cuts have angered voters.