Niger State Government has threatened to stop payment of electricity debts owed to Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) if power outages persists in the state.
Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Abdulmalik Cheche, made the threat on Thursday in Minna while briefing newsmen.
He said that the government had resolved to stop further payment of the debts it owed AEDC if the company refused to increase electricity supply to the state.
He said that the state, which hosts three hydro power generation stations with 1,600 mega watts capacity each, should not experience such power outages.
The Commissioner called on electricity generating companies to allocate additional 10 per cent electricity from the national grid to the state.
He said: “the government has written a letter to the President informing him of the challenges the state is going through due to epileptic power supply.
“The President has directed the governor to meet with the Vice President on the issue.
“It was resolved in the executive council meeting that the state may decide to stop payment of its debts to AEDC if the service they provide did not improve.
“The government has also resolved to stop provision of transformers since the power sector is no longer owned by the federal government but the private sector.
“We call on our people to continue to exercise patience as plans are underway to have an alternative state owned backup power supply that will be generated and distributed directly to the state.”
The Commissioner said that council also resolved that AEDC would henceforth pay ground rent for all transformers in the state.
Last week, some concerned youths in the state organised demonstration to government house to protest power outages for the past three months.
The youth, who were received by the deputy governor, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso, complained of being forced to pay estimated bills even without electricity for the past four months.
“When we first demonstrated about this extortion in Suleja, we were locked up and brought to Minna by security agents.
“We are vindicated now that everybody has seen the inhuman treatment AEDC meted to our community from where they get the highest revenue in the state,” Saidu Audu, one of the protestors told NAN.
Some AEDC staff in Minna to newsmen that the company generates more than N200 million in Suleja alone yet electricity supply to the town is epileptic.
On its part, the AEDC claimed the state owed it accumulated debts of about N1.5 billion.
AEDC chairman Alhaji Shehu Malami, made the disclosure when he visited Governor Sani Bello with its management in March.
