Fashola says DISCOS owe FG N500bn

The Federal Executive Council yesterday put the indebtedness of power distribution companies DISCOS, to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company NBET, a subsidiary agency of the Federal government at N500bn.

This is just as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said the total verified debts owed DISCOS by Ministries Departments and Agencies MDAs of government was a mere N26b as against the N67.1b claimed to be MDAs indebtedness to the DISCOS.

The actually level of government indebtedness to the power distribution companies had been a major contentious issue as the DISCOs had used this as excuses for the epileptic power supply, especially to government institutions and offices.

But the Power Minister while briefing State House Correspondents, after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, however announced that government was prepared to net off the differences

“They also owe government for the energy they have taken and have not remitted. They are owing about N500b to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company an agency of the Federal government”

“Government has approved that this amount that has been quantified be set off against the amount owed by the DISCOS to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), a 100 percent federal government owned subsidiary company.” he said

The Minister revealed that following several claims that government MDAs were owing N67.1b, to the distribution companies, the Ministry undertook the verification of the claims and discovered that the actual MDAs indebtedness was N26b.

” We had presented a memorandum to FEC to approve the verified sum of monies being debts owed by MDAs to distribution companies for electricity supplied to them”

“Since the beginning of this administration, claims of debts by government to DISCOS have been a matter of concern especially in the light of liquidity issues. We had committed that those figures would be verified and the verified sums, government would pay. We Have concluded the verification and we now ask Council to approve the verified sum of N25.994b owed by MDAs of the federal government to be paid to the DISCOS out of the claims of N67.41b.” So, there is a differential of about N41b.”

Fashola also revealed that some of the claims were actually debts owed by public international organizations, States and Local governments which were lumped up with those of the MDAs.

“That differential arises first because some of the claims do not belong to the federal government. Some are owed by states and local governments, also some belong to public international organizations and were classified as government debts”

“So, there is more verifications going on and undertaking at states and local governments which we have discovered at the national Council on Power about a week ago. And this is important so that government can demonstrate its support for the private sector by paying its own debts so that the sector can do what they do well.” he said.

 

Tony Ailemen, Abuja