Nigeria Power Supply Hit by Sabotage, Debt and FX Shortage
- Government ministries, departments owe about $467 million
- Militant attacks cut gas pipelines supplying power stations
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The operations of power companies in Nigeria are being crippled by the sabotage of gas pipelines, increasing debt owed them by the government and their inability to obtain foreign exchange to import equipment, a trade group said.
“Gas vandalism leads to shortage of gas for power generation. Once there is not enough power generation, there is little for us to distribute,” Sunday Oduntan, executive director of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution Companies, told reporters Wednesday in the commercial capital, Lagos. “Government ministries, departments and agents are owing power companies 93 billion naira ($467.2 million) and that is affecting further investment.”