AEDC threatens to disconnect Presidential Villa, EFCC, others

By Matthew Denis, Abuja

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) has threatened to disconnect the electricity supply of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, along with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) over a total debt of N47.1 billion.

The company said the Presidential Villa owes the sum of N923,873,150 as an outstanding debt for electricity charges.

In a disconnection notice on Monday, the AEDC listed the outstanding electricity debts of government ministries, departments and agencies as of December 2023.

It gave the MDAs 10 days to comply and pay their debts or risk disconnection and subsequent blackout from February 28, 2024.

The electricity distribution company in the document stated that it was constrained to publish the details of the debts which had lasted for long for the services rendered.

The AEDC stressed that the publication of the unpaid electricity bill became imperative because its “previous attempts to make them honour their obligations have not achieved the desired result.”

Meanwhile, there are speculations that former President Muhammadu Buhari-led government in the 2023 approved budget allocated the sum of N35.9 million for the Presidential Villa electricity charges.

Defending the budget allocation for the Villa, media reports quoted the Director General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said, “The Villa is quite an expansive edifice with several residences and support services, so as significant as N4.9 billion sounds it is not too much to keep those facilities in top shape that they have been kept.

“Anyone who has been to the villa will appreciate that it is one of the best maintained edifices in the country.”

Recall that in December 2023 also reported that President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2024 allocated the sum of N37.9 million for powering generators in the State House while N260.8 million was earmarked for electricity charges.