Officials of the City of Tshwane, South Africa, on Monday, disconnected electricity supply to the Nigerian High Commission over unpaid utility service debts.
According to the City of Tshwane’s executive mayor, Nasiphi Moya, in a post shared on X, the officials had cut off electricity to the diplomatic mission after outstanding payments for municipal services remained unsettled.
The post was accompanied by a photograph of the Nigerian High Commission building in Pretoria, showing the city’s enforcement action against the mission.
The post read: “#TshwaneYaTima: We’ve disconnected electricity at the High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They owe the city for utility services,” the mayor wrote.
In a follow up post, Moya stated that the city would restore electricity following the payment of the outstanding debt, while thanking the Nigerian High Commission for honouring its financial obligations to the municipality.
“We thank the High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for honouring its debt to the city. The city will reconnect electricity,” the mayor said.
Many of Nigeria’s embassies and high commissions have been operating without substantive ambassadors since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
While the president recently approved a list of ambassadorial nominees to fill the vacancies, a significant number of those appointed are yet to be formally posted to their respective countries to resume duties.
