PHCN threatens to publish names of debtors, indicts military, agencies

THERE may be no more a hiding place for debtors of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), as the agency has threatened to publish their names, particularly the military and government agencies involved.The move was said to have been prompted by a directive from the Presidency, due to the rising debt profile of customers to the 11 electricity distribution companies across the country, which was estimated at over N100 billion, as at the weekend.Already, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, which was owed about N8 billion, has launched its plans to make public the names of its debtors, in line with the directive.The Chief Executive Officer of the zone, Oladele Amoda, who stated this during a media quarterly briefing in Lagos at the weekend, said the huge debt profile has been a major hindrance to the company's performance, adding that it would not hesitate to go the extra mile to recoup the debts, including publishing the names of the debtors.Noting that the military and some other government agencies were responsible for about 75 per cent of the debt stock, he said the Presidency has given PHCN a marching order to recover the funds through various legal means, including publications of the debtors' customers.He said a letter had already been conveyed to the affected debtors, indicating a timeline, which they are expected to pay. 'If they fail to pay at the expiration of this timeline, we will go ahead and publish their names,' he said.His words: 'Our debt profile is about N8 billion and this is the least of the profile among the 11 electricity distributions in the country. The overall debt profile is over N100 billion. You can imagine what we would have done with that money. It is painful that the military and some government parastatals are owing about 75 per cent, while 18 per cent is undergoing reconciliation.'We have written letters to them, gave them a timeline to pay and we have told them that we will publish their names. We have been empowered by the Presidency to collect our dues from them, because the Federal Government is working to reduce its debt profile out there. Government is giving them money so I don't know why they don't want to pay.'The CEO who used the opportunity to roll out its plans for the utility company, after it assumed duty in June, 2011, said he is working in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government, and therefore determined to lift the company's operational profile.
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