Fakoyejo OlalekanThe decision of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to disconnect Aba Power from the national grid has been condemned by a pro-democracy group, the Civil Liberties Organisation.
CLO said the disconnection threw nine out of the 17 local government areas of Abia State into darkness, with residents and Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department Security Service, the Civil Defence and National Security Organisation in Abia State suffering from the decision.
In a statement by the head of the Civil Liberties Organisation, Aloy Attah, he said the disconnection of Aba Power is unfair, considering other electricity companies are also indebted to the government.
Prime Business Africa (PBA) had reported that TCN disconnected Aba Power over N896.21 million debt, but Attah said all the other electricity distribution companies (Disco) owed more debt compared to Aba.
TCN ignored an enquiry from Prime Business Africa over the comment made by the Managing Director of Aba Power, Patrick Umeh.
Attah said TCN “didn’t mind putting a whole state in darkness, including the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department Security Service, the Civil Defence and National Security Organisation in Abia State which rely on constant electricity supply to discharge their onerous duties to the Nigerian people in a state with grave security challenges.”
“It is not fortuitous but rather a well-calculated, deliberate action that the disconnection started not just on a Friday but also on a public holiday which saw Nigerians out of their usual businesses till the following Monday.
“The TCN and the Market Operator did not allow Muslims to celebrate the annual Eid el Fitri feast, after one month of fasting, body mortification and intense spiritual exercises,” The CLO added in a Punch report on Tuesday.
Attah explained that despite Aba Power stated charging customers in September, even though the company took ownership in February, it paid N500 million to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company last month and N50 million to the TCN.
“Even though it, in legal terms, took over the ownership of the Aba Ringfence in February, last year, it did not take over full management until last September when it began to collect revenue from customers.
“For six months it provided electricity without receiving a naira and still paid staff salaries during this period.
“We are also satisfied that it paid last month N500m to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company and N50m to the TCN.
“What is more, we are satisfied that it raised power supply in the Aba Power Ring-fenced Area from 25 megawatts in September to 80MW last February, though there has been a decrease since March owing to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company’s decision not to provide credit anymore in response to the unwillingness of many individuals and organisations in the area not to pay as and when due for power supply,” Attah said.
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