By Sabiu Abdullahi
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, has made a fervent plea for the liquidation of the Nigerian Army’s staggering N42 billion electricity debt, following the disconnection of several Army barracks and cantonments by power distribution companies.
Lagbaja revealed that the persistent blackouts in barracks had dire consequences, leading to the decomposition of corpses in Army mortuaries and sparking protests from the owners of the deceased.
During his visit to the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, in Abuja, Lagbaja stressed the urgent need to address the repercussions of the power outage in Army formations and chart a way forward.
The Army chief lamented that some barracks and cantonments had been plunged into total darkness since January, exacerbating security concerns.
“Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically. Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting,” Lagbaja said.
He further highlighted the Army’s inability to raise funds to settle the entire debt, echoing a plea for liquidation akin to the resolution in 2005 by the then President.
Acknowledging the gravity of the situation, Lagbaja assured the Minister of the Army’s unwavering support in combating electricity infrastructure vandalism and developing intelligent strategies to address the menace.
In response, Minister Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his commitment to engaging power distribution companies in dialogue to alleviate the burden of the N42 billion electricity debt.
Adelabu pledged to intervene in restructuring the debt payment, provided there is a guarantee of regular payments by the Nigerian Army, stating the necessity of sustainable solutions to mitigate the adverse effects of the ongoing electricity crisis in Army installations.
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