Babatunde Solanke
The Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has cut power supply to Aliko Dangote University, Wudil, over an outstanding debt of N248 million.
The Managing Director of KEDCO, Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf, who disclosed this to newmen on Monday,said the varsity only paid N20 million out of the outstanding N248 million.
He said that the institution only made payment of N20 million out of the outstanding N248 million.
According to him,the power supply would only be restored if the management made huge payments.
He said his company was spending heavily to purchase power from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), hence the need to redouble efforts toward revenue generation.
Also,at a news conference,the Dean, Students Affairs, Professor Abdulkadir Muhammad Dambazau warned that the management is confronted with three unpalatable options to resolved the exigencies.
He said:”We are confronted with three options to amicably resolve the dilemma, and these include either the state government intervene or we shut the University, or we allow the students to bear the burden.
“We built our system around KEDCO supply, as we are compelled by the emerging exigencies to shut our Laboratories section, Computer system, introduced load shedding on academic area, residential areas , and commercial areas of the University community”.
He stated that: “There is no electricity, life is becoming unbearable for the dwellers of the University community, we relied on KEDCO to pump water for 28 thousand l students, including the staff quarters in the campus, and now the temporary arrangement weve adopted may pose threat to the security situation of the campus”.
He disclosed that the electricity bill has suddenly jumped from N18m to N60m monthly, stressing that the enhanced overhead from the state government which stood at N20m is not enough to pay the electricity bill.
The Dean,Students Affairs said that “We have sent Save Our Soul to the governor, and other critical stakeholders, and it is our hope the governor will intervene and offset the bill for the smooth running of the institution”.