President Bola Tinubu has instructed the immediate payment of the N342.3 million electricity bill owed to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.
The statement was made by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The directive was given after the State House Management and AEDC completed their account reconciliation.
Despite AEDC’s initial claim of a debt of N923 million in newspaper ads, correspondence from AEDC’s management to the State House Permanent Secretary on February 14, 2024, revealed that the actual outstanding amount is N342,352,217.46.
The statement reads: “President Bola Tinubu has directed immediate settlement of outstanding electricity bill due to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.
“The President’s directive follows the reconciliation of accounts between the State House Management and AEDC.
“Contrary to the AEDC’s initial claim of N923million debt in paid advertorial in newspapers, the State House outstanding bill is N342, 352, 217.46, according to a letter by the management of AEDC to the State House Permanent Secretary dated February 14, 2024.
“Having reconciled the position to the satisfaction of both parties, the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has given assurance that the debt will be paid to AEDC before the end of this week.”
Allub Times reports that Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) sent a ten-day notice to eighty-six Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) requesting payment of a total of N41.7 billion in overdue debts.
The list of debtors includes the Presidential Villa, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Health, the CBN governor, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), among others.
