South African electricity utility company, City Power, went to the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg on Wednesday, January 18, to disconnect the office’s power supply over unpaid bills amounting to R406,000.
According to News24, the Nigerian consulate was one of the buildings affected by the revenue collection program initiated by City Power.
Isaac Mangena, a spokesperson for City Power, confirmed the incident and was quoted to have said:
- “The Nigerian consulate-general has been defaulting since last year but they promised to clear up the bill by January after the disconnection.
- “The consul-general visited our Service Delivery Centre in Alexandra, and agreed to pay the deposit, with the rest to be paid by the end of the month.”
Consulate’s reaction: Meanwhile, in a statement seen by Nairametrics, the office of the Consulate General focused only on the ‘invasion’ of the premises of the consulate. The statement said the invasion was carried out by officials of City Power, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), and members of the Press.
The statement also revealed that the group arrived at its premises without prior notice or appointment and disrupted consular services.
The Nigerian Consulate in South Africa responds over the issue of debt owed to City Power Johannesburg and the invasion of its premises earlier today. @nigerianconsulate @nidcom_gov @NGRSenate @TheNationNews @NTANewsNow @KadariaAhmed @seunokin @aledeh @POWER987News pic.twitter.com/VuP0dOYHoE
— Adetunji Adebola Omotola (@tunjiomotola) January 18, 2023
An investigation demanded: The statement further noted that the Consulate General has followed diplomatic channels to convey the Nigerian Government’s displeasure to the South African Government. The Consulate General also demanded for a thorough investigation into what he described as an “illegal violation” and asked for appropriate remedial measures to be taken to forestall recurrence.
- “The consulate maintains that the actions of the officials, no matter the justification was in complete violation of extant international treaties and conventions, especially the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, which guarantees the inviolability of Consular premises,” the statement said.
For the record: City Power earlier announced that it was on a debt recovery mission to households and businesses in order to recover outstanding bills from power supply payment defaulters.
