Nigeria’s House of Representatives has directed 11 electricity distribution companies to face its Public Accounts Committee over debts amounting to N2.6 trillion owed to the Federal Government through the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET).

The order followed a review of the 2021 Auditor-General’s report, which exposed major lapses in the power sector’s financial records.

NBET’s Managing Director, Johnson Akinnawo, presented documents to the committee revealing that as of September 2020, the Discos had accumulated debts running into trillions. Abuja Disco topped the list with N330.4bn, while Ibadan and Ikeja Discos followed with N325.7bn and N310bn respectively. Others also owe significant sums, with Yola Disco at the bottom owing N107.4bn.

The report also pointed out several irregularities, such as N30bn uncollected from market operators, N100bn paid for electricity that was never delivered, N26bn owed by foreign firms for exported power, and billions lost to under-remittances and unpaid invoices.

Lawmakers described the debts as a major setback for the power sector and insisted the Discos must explain their failure to meet obligations. A motion moved by Rep. Yahya Kusada and seconded by Billy Osawaru sealed the decision to summon all 11 companies, as well as other market players mentioned in the audit report.