By Tony Adibe
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has bemoaned the disruption of its operations by an Enugu State Government agency after it announced a massive disconnection of heavily indebted state government offices in the South-East of Nigeria.
EEDC made this disclosure in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Head of Corporate Communication, Mr Emeka Ezeh, in Enugu. Ezeh said that on arriving for work this morning, the entire staff were surprised to meet the EEDC Corporate Head Office sealed by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA).
This development is strange because there was no notice of any sort by the agency to our organisation, according to Ezeh. The spokesman said: “We were informed by the security men on duty that in the early hours of today (Tuesday), at about 1:53a.m., a group of men came and locked up the gates, claiming that the state government directed the action.
“Our Abakpa, Awkunanaw, and Ogui District offices were not spared as their gates were equally sealed and locked. As at now, there has not been any clear information/communication from ECTDA explaining their action. We, however, suspect that this action might not be unconnected to the notice of disconnection published by EEDC informing indebted customers of the intention to commence disconnection today, Tuesday, June 11, 2024.”
Ezeh further said that the Enugu State Government happened to be one of the indebted customers with over N1 Billion owed to EEDC. He said: “It is important to state that majority of the state government’s facilities are metered (so, it is not a case of estimated billing). “EEDC has about N180 Billion as debt owed the company in the entire South-East and has concluded plans to commence disconnection of indebted customers.”
