In a move to address the electricity debt concerns and enhance accountability within military establishments, the Federal Government has announced the procurement of 50,000 prepaid electricity meters for installation across various military barracks and facilities nationwide.
The revelation came during a sectoral briefing held in Abuja on Friday, where the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, provided insights into the initiative. Adelabu highlighted that the decision stemmed from a request by the Nigerian Army to alleviate its substantial electricity debt and ensure proper metering of barracks.
Previously, President Bola Tinubu directed the Ministry to intervene following the Army’s appeal to settle outstanding debts and implement metering solutions. The Ministry, in response, tapped into a N32 billion metering fund designated for the supply of three million prepaid meters, which had been deposited into the account of a private firm, Ziklagsis, back in 2003.
Adelabu confirmed the completion of the procurement process and emphasized that the acquired meters would be promptly distributed to military installations across the country. This measure aims to mitigate the debts owed to power distribution companies by various government ministries, departments, and agencies.
“Nearly 50,000 meters have been secured and will be rolled out to all military formations nationwide, thereby curbing MDA debts and bolstering sector liquidity,” remarked Adelabu during the briefing.
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In addition to this development, the Federal Government recently concluded a bidding process for the acquisition of 1.5 million meters, with funding provided by the World Bank. Adelabu assured that the contract for this initiative would be awarded within the coming months, further contributing to liquidity improvement and the reduction of estimated billing practices.
“We have just concluded the bidding process for 1.5 million meters, backed by World Bank funding, aimed at enhancing sector liquidity and minimizing estimated billing. Within the next few months, the contract will be granted to meter providers,” Adelabu elaborated.
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Highlighting President Tinubu’s commitment to address the prevailing metering gap, Adelabu underscored ongoing efforts to deploy meters to 10 million customers over the next five years. This strategic endeavor, initiated under a presidential directive, targets the provision of 2 million meters annually to bridge the existing gap of over 7 million meters, ultimately eradicating estimated billing practices and reducing instances of overbilling.
