South African authorities have disconnected the electricity supply to the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria over unpaid utility charges.
The development was confirmed on Monday by the Mayor of Tshwane, Nasiphi Moya, in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter). According to her, the disconnection was carried out under the city’s debt recovery initiative tagged #TshwaneYaTima, which targets government institutions, businesses, and residents with outstanding utility debts.
“#TshwaneYaTima: We’ve disconnected electricity at the High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They owe the city for utility services,” Moya wrote.
The move adds to a growing list of power-related disputes involving Nigerian diplomatic facilities in South Africa. In 2023, City Power, the electricity distributor in Johannesburg, disconnected electricity supply to the Nigerian consulate in the city over an unpaid bill estimated at about R600,000, equivalent to roughly $35,000 at the time.
Similarly, in September last year, the Nigerian High Commission was reportedly cut off from public electricity after failing to settle accumulated utility charges.
The latest disconnection has once again drawn attention to recurring issues surrounding unpaid service bills by diplomatic missions, despite international conventions governing diplomatic relations.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian High Commission has yet to issue an official response to the development.
