Kaduna Government House went dark due to a N2.9 billion electrical debtpublished on August 3, 2024, thirty minutes ago.Through Ripples Nigeria The Kaduna State Government and the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) are engaged in a dramatic public confrontation.
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The latter has taken the extreme measure of cutting off the electricity supply to the Government House due to an outstanding debt of N2.9 billion. The government had fallen behind on its electricity payments, according to KAEDCO, which clarified in a statement issued on Friday by Head of Corporate Communication AbdulAzeez Abdullahi.
This was despite the company’s repeated attempts to communicate with state officials in order to settle the missing payment. The electricity provider stressed that the debt had been building for a considerable amount of time and that current consumption charges accounted for a sizable amount of it.
According to a statement from Kaduna Electric, the outstanding balance for electricity consumed in just the months of January through July of 2024 totalled an astounding N1,166,856,991.87 (one billion, one hundred and sixty-six million, eight hundred and fifty-six thousand, nine hundred and ninety-one naira, and eighty-seven kopo). Kaduna Government House went dark due to a N2.9 billion electrical debtPosted by Ripples Nigeria 30 minutes ago on August 3, 2024 The Kaduna State Government and the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) are engaged in a dramatic public confrontation. The latter has taken the extreme measure of cutting off the electricity supply to the Government House due to an outstanding debt of N2.9 billion.
The government had fallen behind on its electricity payments, according to KAEDCO, which clarified in a statement issued on Friday by Head of Corporate Communication AbdulAzeez Abdullahi. This was despite the company’s repeated attempts to communicate with state officials in order to settle the missing payment. The electricity provider stressed that the debt had been building for a considerable amount of time and that current consumption charges accounted for a sizable amount of it. According to a statement from Kaduna Electric, the outstanding balance for electricity consumed in just the months of January through July of 2024 totalled an astounding N1,166,856,991.87 (one billion, one hundred and sixty-six million, eight hundred and fifty-six thousand, nine hundred and ninety-one naira, and eighty-seven kopo).
The current overall debt of the State Government, as reported by KAEDCO, is two billion nine hundred and forty-three million sixty thousand one hundred and sixteen naira seventy-seven kobo (N2,943,060,116.77). This amount does not include the historical debt. It also stated that the Kaduna State Government’s debt is still very high even after a recent payment of N256,920,963.88 for power used between September 2023 and December 2023 was made on May 9, 2024. It stated, “This payment, though significant, has not been sufficient to settle the accumulated arrears.”
The decision to shut off electricity to the state capital has shocked the state and brought attention to the growing financial difficulties that many state governments in Nigeria are facing. In addition, the action is probably going to make the already tense relationship between the state and its power distributor even more strained, which will raise concerns about the sustainability of the electrical supply to other important government buildings and the general public.
