The Minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday warned electricity distribution companies (Discos) in the country to stop blackmailing the federal government over outstanding debts allegedly owed them by its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA).
In a statement signed by Hakeem Bello, his special adviser on communications, Fashola said that saying Government would not succumb to blackmail and would only pay verified debts.
He advised the Discos to pursue the debt issue in their capacities as distribution companies and not under the aegis of any association, pointing out that although the constitution guaranteed freedom of association, the privatization exercise that led to the transfer of the distribution assets of power was not held between the federal government and any association but 11 individual companies.
The Minister, who spoke at the opening session of the 10th monthly meeting with power sector operators in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, expressed disappointment that the companies had placed advertorials under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution Companies, which failed to tell Nigerians the whole truth.
He also alleged that the Discos have so far failed to provide details of such debts for verification.
Fashola describing the advertorials titled, “MDA debts not yet paid,” with other sidelines such as “MDA pay your debts so that we can serve Nigerians better,” as a blackmail against the federal government.
“Let me say without any equivocation that government will not succumb to this blackmail, at least not the federal government of Nigeria,” the minister declared.
He also recalled his promise at the assumption of duties that government would pay all duly verified debts, but expressed displeasure that the Discos failed to tell Nigerians in their advertorials about the various meetings seeking solution to the debt problem.
At the last monthly meeting with the Discos in Sokoto, Fashola said, an online platform was provided by government to enable them submit the details of the debts with ease, to which none of the Discos has complied based on the agreed deadline.
“I think that advert should have told the Nigerian public that at our meeting in Sokoto, we provided an online platform where we asked all the Discos to submit details of their debts to that platform so that we can verify it; I think that advert should have told Nigerians how many Discos have complied with that instruction, as well as how much was owed and to which Disco, he contended.
“So while I respect the rights of association; indeed our Constitution allows freedom of association, but the Nigerian government will not pay its debts estimated to be about N100 billion under the aegis of an association. That is not how to resolve debts, debts are not calculated by estimates,” the minister said.
Also faulting the DisCos on the grounds that the advertorials contained no information as to how many of them had supplied details of their audited account for the last three years, Fashola said the information would be more meaningful for Nigerians to know how many Discos were complying with the regulations set by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
“That advert should also have told the Nigerian Public how many Discos have gone to court to frustrate the attempt by NERC to hold them to their contracts so that they can pay the Gencos who have been sacrificing, the Gas producers, who have not received any money but have continued to act patriotically”, he said.
