Minister Warns Discos Against Debt Blackmail

• Minister Warns Discos Against Debt Blackmail

The excuse for non-performance by power Distribution Companies (DisCos) based alleged huge debt of government establishments is no longer tenable, as the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has described it as blackmail.

The Minister, Babatunde Fashola, who warned that government would not succumb to such blackmail, but only pay verified debts, urged the operators to pursue the debt issue in their capacities as DisCos, not under any association.

Fashola pointed out that although the Constitution guaranteed freedom of association, the privatisation exercise that led to the transfer of power distribution assets was not held between the Federal Government and any association, but 11 individual companies.

The minister, at the 10th monthly meeting with Power Sector Operators in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, expressed disappointment that the companies had placed advertorials under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution Companies, but failed to tell Nigerians the whole truth about the debts.