Power generation firms (GENCOs) have been assured that their outstanding debts will be confirmed and settled as part of President Bola Tinubu’s approval of a ₦4 trillion bailout to address Nigeria’s power sector liquidity problem.
Tinubu urged patience and promised openness in evaluating the legacy debts inherited from past administrations during a meeting with GENCOs chaired by Col. Sani Bello (rtd). Financial institutions should refrain from foreclosing on power assets while the government completes its debt verification, he said, emphasizing a market-driven electricity sector.
Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser on Energy, disclosed that unmet tariffs and market shortages since 2015 are the cause of the ₦4 trillion due to GENCOs. With further evaluations still in progress, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) has authenticated ₦1.8 trillion thus far.
“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”, According to her, GENCOs claimed about 4 trillion from 2015 to the end of 2023,”
Tinubu’s changes, such as the Electricity Act 2023 and the new National Electricity Policy, were commended by Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power. He stated that there has been no system collapse in 2025, investor confidence had grown, electricity output had risen (to 14,000MW), and that revenue had climbed by 70%.
“As part of the Presidential Power Initiative, more than 700MW of transmission capacity has been added,” he added. Despite advancements, Adelabu cautioned that the lack of cash might jeopardize sector stability and called for quick financial assistance to prevent a possible countrywide closure.
These worries were reiterated by business executives Tony Elumelu and Kola Adesina, who included foreclosure threats, unpaid bills, and shortages in gas supplies. Elumelu urged the President to move quickly and emphasized the importance of power in economic reform.
“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.
“Before you took office in 2023, we lost 97% of our daily oil production. Today, we are retaining 98%. That’s transformation. Investors are seeing greater stability and predictability,” he said.
Elumelu went on to say of electricity: “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.”
Top government representatives, such as the Chief of Staff, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and important players in the energy industry, were also present at the meeting.
