TINUBU URGES PATIENCE AS FG SEEKS TO CLEAR ₦4 TRILLION POWER SECTOR DEBT

President Bola Tinubu on Friday July 25th appealed to electricity generation companies (GENCOs) to grant the federal government more time to complete the verification and validation of ₦4 trillion in legacy debts owed to them, even as his administration pushes a fresh ₦4 trillion bond programme to address long-standing liquidity issues in Nigeria’s power sector.
Meeting with the Association of Power Generation Companies, led by Col. Sani Bello (rtd), at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President acknowledged that the debts were inherited from previous administrations but promised to address them with transparency.
“I accept the assets and liabilities of my predecessors,” Tinubu said. “But that acceptance must be on credible grounds. I need to wear the audit cap of verifiability and authenticity.”
According to the Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, the ₦4 trillion bond proposal has received anticipatory presidential approval, pending final audit clearance and negotiations.
The President appealed to financial institutions to avoid foreclosures against GENCOs while reforms take shape. “Sharpen your pencils, but keep an eraser handy,” he told banking executives present.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, lauded the administration’s reforms, which he said had boosted investor confidence, expanded installed capacity to 14,000 MW, and brought national grid collapses to zero in 2025.
But Adelabu warned of looming risks: “Given the grave implications of this debt overhang, including the risk of a nationwide shutdown, we need immediate support, even if partial.”
Top energy sector players, including Tony Elumelu and Kola Adesina, warned that continued debt could cripple operations, reduce generation, and threaten industrial growth.