President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate settlement of an outstanding electricity bill of about N342 million due to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
The company was forced to publish the names of its debtors, including the State House, in national dailies on Monday, threatening to disconnect their power supply if they failed to settle the debts after 10 days.
According to a statement issued on Monday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, the president’s directive followed the reconciliation of accounts between the State House management and AEDC.
It said that contrary to the AEDC’s initial claim of N923 million in debt in paid advertisements in newspapers, the State House’s outstanding bill is N342,352,217.46, according to a letter by the management of the AEDC to the State House Permanent Secretary dated February 14, 2024.
The statement informed that, having reconciled the position to the satisfaction of both parties, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has given assurance that the debt will be paid to AEDC before the end of this week.
It added that, following the example of the Presidency, the Chief of Staff also urged other MDAs to reconcile their accounts with AEDC and pay their electricity bills.
