President Bola Tinubu has appealed to power generation companies (GenCos) to give the federal government more time to complete the verification and validation of legacy debts amounting to N4 trillion owed to them.
In a statement by Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesperson, on Friday after the meeting with members of the Power Generation Companies, led by Col. Sani Bello (rtd), at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President assured the GenCos of his administration’s commitment to resolving the liquidity challenges in the power sector.
President Tinubu acknowledged the historic liabilities inherited from previous administrations and pledged transparency and fairness in addressing them:
“I accept the assets and liabilities of my predecessors, and there is no question about that. But that acceptance must be on credible grounds. I need to wear the audit cap of verifiability, authenticity, and the fact that this inheritance is not a mere deodorant but a support structure for critical economic and industrial promotion.”
The President emphasised the need for patience from GenCos and financial institutions, noting that government agencies are actively engaging audit and legal firms to scrutinise the claims.
“We are here. So market it to your other colleagues. Give us time to do verification and validation of the numbers,” he said.
On her part, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen, disclosed that a FGN N4 trillion bond programme has received anticipatory approval from President Tinubu to address the liquidity shortfall in the sector.
Verheijen attributed the liquidity crisis to “a combination of unfunded tariff shortfalls and market shortfalls” that have built up over a decade.
She stated that as of April 2025, the Federal Government is carrying a verified exposure of N4 trillion in debts to GenCos, an accumulation dating back to 2015.
“We have since sat with 27 GenCos-not all of them are here today-and reviewed their PPAs and gas sales agreements to understand the legitimacy of their claims. The GenCos claimed about ₦4 trillion from 2015 to the end of 2023,” she said.
According to her, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET)-the agency that contractually mediates between GenCos and the government-has validated N1.8 trillion of these claims so far.
“Since that period, we have had ₦200 billion in unfunded subsidies that have accumulated the federal government’s liability.
“So, as of April 2025, the total exposure that we are carrying at the moment is N4 trillion,” she added.
However, Ms. Verheijen cautioned that the figure remains subject to downward revision, pending final validation.
“While there is an anticipatory approval of this N4 trillion bond programme, it is subject to negotiations and final settlement of agreements. Only the amounts that the federal government validly owes are the things that will make it into the issuance by DMO,” she explained.
During the meeting, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, commended President Tinubu for the attention given to the power sector, stating that the administration’s reforms have restored investor confidence and improved performance across the electricity value chain.
“Your Excellency, your presence at this meeting is a clear testament to your unwavering commitment to the sustainability, stability, and long-term development of Nigeria’s power sector. Under your leadership, we have recorded critical milestones in less than two years,” the minister said.
“Mr. President, given the grave implications of this debt overhang, including the risk of a nationwide shutdown of generation assets, I humbly seek your immediate support for defraying these obligations, even if partially, over a defined period,” the minister appealed.
He urged the President to continue supporting structural reforms to ensure a resilient and financially viable power market.
In separate remarks, business leaders Tony Elumelu and Kola Adesina appealed for urgent intervention to preserve operations and encourage further investment in the sector.
“Mr. President, we’ve come to you as a last hope. The generating companies are heavily indebted to banks, and foreclosure threats are real, not because we’re not doing our jobs, but because the system owes us trillions,” Elumelu said.
He commended the Tinubu administration for restoring the integrity of oil production and banking stability.
“Before you took office in 2023, we lost 97 percent of our daily oil production. Today, we are retaining 98 percent. That’s transformation. Investors are seeing greater stability and predictability,” he said.
On electricity, Elumelu added, “We don’t need power to complete your transformation; we need power to enable it. Power is critical to unlocking Nigeria’s full potential. We urge you to help solve this debt problem.”
