Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, has appealed for the settlement of the Nigerian Army’s staggering N42 billion electricity debt. Lagbaja revealed during his visit to the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, that power disconnections in Army barracks have led to severe consequences, including the decomposition of corpses in Army mortuaries. This distressing situation has prompted protests from the families of the deceased.
Lagbaja emphasized the critical need to address the power outage repercussions in Army formations, describing the situation as a security threat. He highlighted the challenges faced by the Army in raising funds to settle the entire debt and called for a resolution similar to the one in 2005, where the debt was liquidated by the then President.
In response, Adelabu assured commitment to engage in dialogue with power distribution companies but clarified that the debt could not be written off. He acknowledged broader challenges in the power sector, including infrastructure vandalism, inefficiencies, and attacks on transmission stations. Adelabu urged distribution and generation companies to adopt a monthly repayment plan and pledged collaboration with development partners for solar installations in Army facilities.
The report also revealed significant electricity debts owed by various government agencies, with the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company issuing a warning of disconnection within 10 days if outstanding debts were not settled by government entities, totaling N47 billion.
