The Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has refuted allegations by the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) that the recent deaths of patients on life support were caused by power disconnection, insisting the claims were an attempt to blackmail the utility company.
On Sunday, AKTH management expressed dismay over the incident, stressing that the lives lost could have been saved if power supply had been sustained. However, in a swift response, KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Communications, Sani Bala Sani, said the hospital’s accusations were unfounded, adding that power had already been restored “even before the outburst.”
According to him, the incident stemmed from ongoing efforts to separate the hospital’s main campus and health facilities from the staff residential complex.
“The main campus and health facilities are connected to the top-priority 33kV Zaria Road feeder, which enjoys an average of 22 hours of daily supply under Band A services,” Sani explained. “But AKTH management has continued to insist that staff residential homes remain on the same feeder as the critical hospital facilities. This has posed repeated risks to the stability and reliability of the hospital’s dedicated power supply.”
He disclosed that KEDCO had made several attempts to separate the residential homes from the hospital’s critical facilities, but these efforts failed due to management’s resistance. The utility company blamed this resistance for the severe fault that caused the recent outage.
“To safeguard uninterrupted power to the hospital, KEDCO is proceeding with the separation of the two supply lines. This is necessary to guarantee reliability, safety, and improved quality of service to the hospital,” he added.
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Beyond the technical issues, KEDCO also accused the hospital of failing to settle its electricity bills for staff quarters and non-essential areas, which it said had negatively affected service quality and the company’s financial sustainability.
The company revealed that in a letter dated August 12, 2025, its Chief Commercial Officer, Muhammad Aminu Dantata, had notified the AKTH Chief Medical Director of plans to withdraw electricity services from staff quarters and non-critical facilities due to persistent partial payments.
The letter noted that despite repeated appeals, AKTH continued to make only partial monthly payments, leaving behind an outstanding debt of ₦949,880,922.45 as of August 2025. It further demanded that the hospital settle its August bill of ₦108,957,582.29 in full within 10 working days to avoid disconnection.
KEDCO stressed that while it remains fully committed to ensuring uninterrupted electricity to AKTH as a foremost health institution, it also has a duty to protect the integrity of its operations and maintain economic sustainability.
