The state government sealed off the distribution company over N600m unpaid taxes and the disco retaliated and cut off power supply to the Government House over N2.9bn outstanding bills.
In what seems like a back-and-forth game, the management of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company has disconnected power supply to the Kaduna State Government House and other state government offices over unpaid bills amounting to N2.9 Billion.This followed an earlier sealing up of Kaduna Electric headquarters by the Kaduna Internal Revenue Service on Friday morning over unpaid taxes of over N600 million.
The Executive Chairman of the service, Jerry Adams, who led the operation, explained that the Service secured a court order for the immediate closure and taking over of the Company’s property until all unpaid taxes are settled.However, in a dramatic retaliation, the Kaduna Electric said it has cut off the power supply to the Kaduna State Government House and other state government facilities due to unpaid bills totalling N2.9 billion.
A spokesman for distribution company, AbdulAzeez Abdullahi, on Friday, said that Kaduna Electric made repeated attempts to resolve the issue, including consultations with Kaduna state government officials, before issuing a disconnection notice on July 21.It further said that the decision to disconnect power to the Kaduna State Government House came after repeated attempts to address the payment issues, including several consultations with state officials.
The move, it said, reflected the company’s need to meet its financial obligations amidst the broader challenges facing the electricity sector.
Kaduna Electric emphasised that the disconnection was a last resort after all other avenues for resolving the payment issue had been exhausted.
It noted further that despite a recent payment of N256,920,963.88 made on May 9, 2024, for electricity consumed between September 2023 and December 2023, the Kaduna State Government’s debt remains significantly high.“This payment, though substantial, has not been enough to clear the accumulated arrears,” it said.
