Ministers and other top government officials abandoned their offices to work from home over electricity disconnection.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that for the second week, most ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government located in the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, have been without electricity supply from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
According to an investigation, most of the MDAs are heavily indebted to the AEDC, which forced the power firm to disconnect them after several reminders, including publishing such debtors on some national dailies.
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Recall that last Thursday, LEADERSHIP exclusively published that the power outage had hit the secretariat for one week.
When our correspondents visited the secretariat yesterday, the situation had not changed as the affected MDAs were still in darkness.
It was learnt that the situation forced some ministers and other top officials to work from home.
Some workers who spoke with our correspondents yesterday lamented that the outage had been allowed to enter the second week, making them completely unproductive in their offices.
A senior director in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation who preferred anonymity said that the office was not experiencing the outage because of the solar system installed by the Head of Service.
He said that most major offices attached to the Office of the Head of Civil Service were connected to solar power to avoid redundancy in the office.
“The only areas in Block A and C that have electricity supply from the solar system is the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, but others that are not attached to it are in complete darkness, except you can afford to buy fuel or diesel for your generator,” he said.
However, some senior civil servants who have offices on the second and third floors of Block A and C, which host the Office of the Head of Civil Service, said that they could no longer stay inside their offices to work because of the prolonged power failure.
“I wonder why this power failure issue is taking a long time to resolve. The Federal Secretariat is the engineroom of the nation’s socio economic development, and I wonder why the authorities have failed to do something about it.
“We thought that, by now, this whole thing would be over, but from the look of things, we do not know when the power outage problem would be resolved,” one of the senior civil servants said.
Senior officials in the Phase 1 section of the Federal Secretariat confirmed that they had been without electricity for a week, a situation attributed to unpaid bills owed to the AEDC.
A source within the secretariat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the blackout commenced last week.
According to the source, the outstanding electricity bills have accrued over an extended period, leading to the power firm’s decision to cut off the power supply.
“The accumulated bill is significant, and AEDC had no choice but to cut the light,” the source explained.
The source further disclosed that while Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Secretariat were also initially affected by the power outage, Phase 3 resolved its outstanding debts and had electricity restored. As of now, only Phase 1 remains in darkness.
The ministries affected include the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, and the Federal Ministry of Communications,
This prolonged blackout has disrupted daily operations within Phase 1 of the Federal Secretariat, causing inconvenience to employees and visitors alike. Pending the settlement of the outstanding bills, it remains unclear when the power will be restored.
The disconnection that cuts across the central business district does not affect the activities of the Federal Ministry of Finance, which still has a regular power supply.
A senior official in the ministry, who refused to be named, told our reporter yesterday that the workers are used to running on standby power generating sets to power their entire ministry, which also houses the Budget Office of the Federation.
While he refused to confirm if the ministry was disconnected by the AEDC, he said, “As you can see, we are on gen (generator). Whenever light comes, we are fine, too.”
He, however, failed to tell us how much the ministry had spent on fueling the power-generating sets.
When our reporter visited the ministry yesterday, the generators were heard humming from the car park wing.
The Ministry of Finance is one of the MDAs that AEDC served a disconnection notice earlier this year for failing to pay an outstanding electricity bill of N367.67 million. This newspaper could not confirm whether that backlog has been cleared.
At the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, an official (name withheld) said inquiries regarding the power situation at the secretariat should be directed to the Head of Service of the Federation.
According to her, the ministry is not responsible for managing the power outage resolution.
She said, “I am just a civil servant. I don’t have anything to say about it. My job is to go to work and close at the right time. Please direct your questions to the head of service.”
Over 34 ministries, departments, and agencies, including the Nigerian Army headquartered in Abuja, were encouraged to circumvent budgetary allocations. Consequently, substantial unpaid electricity bills, totalling over N10.01 billion, have accumulated despite specific provisions in the annual national budgetary allocation.
Education, Health Ministries Enjoy Power Supply
Meanwhile, NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal Ministry of Education has restored electricity within its offices while neighbouring ministries remained engulfed in darkness.
According to sources in the ministry, the outage affected the Ministry last week due to unpaid NEPA bills, leaving several departments grappling with disrupted operations.
When our reporter visited the Ministry yesterday, sources within it revealed that the management worked and restored the light after the bill was cleared.
“It was critical for us to maintain our services, but thank God the light was restored, as you can see it now,” he said.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was also not affected by the power outage and breakdown of solar power in the Federal Secretariat as there was electricity in the office when our correspondent visited the ministry on Monday afternoon.
Sources in the ministry told our correspondent they were shocked to hear that the entire Federal Secretariat had not had power for two weeks.
A deputy director in the ministry who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that there is power supply in the ministry, adding that whenever power from the national grid is not available, the ministry uses inverters or generators.
According to her, the inverter covers the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th floors, which are where the minister’s offices and the conference hall are located.
“Whenever there is no power supply during work hours, those in other offices go to these floors using inverters if they need to use light”, she added.
Another ministry staff member who pleaded for anonymity told our correspondent that the ministry has had power supply in the past two weeks.
“If there is no power supply and the inverter is down, how come the elevators work?” she asked.
When LEADERSHIP contacted AEDC head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Adefisayo Akinsanya, there was no response despite repeated phone calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages.
