President Bola Tinubu on Friday met with power generation companies (GENCOs) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and requested more time to verify longstanding debts owed to the companies by the federal government.
The meeting was attended by members of the Association of Power Generation Companies, led by Col. Sani Bello (rtd).
President Tinubu stated that his administration is committed to resolving the liquidity issues facing the power sector and would approach the debt claims with fairness and transparency.
Special adviser to the president on energy, Olu Verheijen, said President Tinubu has given anticipatory approval for a N4 trillion bond programme to address the liquidity shortfall.
She added that the government has verified N1.8 trillion of the total N4 trillion claimed by GENCOs, while the remaining amount is still undergoing validation.
Mrs Verheijen noted that the debt dates back to 2015 and stems from tariff shortfalls and other market-related issues.
She said that although the full N4 trillion has received preliminary approval, only validated debts will be included in the final bond issuance by the Debt Management Office.
President Tinubu acknowledged the liabilities inherited from past administrations and said the government is working with audit and legal firms to verify the claims.
He asked GENCOs and financial institutions to be patient while the verification process is completed.
Minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the Tinubu administration has implemented reforms in the power sector, including the signing of the Electricity Act, 2023 and the launch of a national electricity policy.
He said the reforms have led to increased investor participation and a 70 percent rise in sector revenue from N1 trillion in 2023 to N1.7 trillion in 2024.
Mr Adelabu stated that installed generation capacity has increased from 13,000 MW to 14,000 MW and Nigeria recorded a peak daily energy delivery of 120,370 MWh on March 4.
He also said there has been no national grid collapse in 2025 and that interventions have added over 700 MW of transmission capacity.
The minister said N700 billion has been allocated to the Presidential Metering Initiative and that 300,000 smart meters have been delivered under the World Bank-backed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.
Despite these achievements, Adelabu said the sector still faces a liquidity crisis that threatens ongoing reforms.
He appealed to the president to approve a phased repayment of the debts owed to GENCOs.
Business leaders Tony Elumelu and Kola Adesina also spoke at the meeting.
Mr Elumelu said GENCOs are heavily indebted to banks and warned of possible foreclosure.
He urged the government to resolve the debt issue to sustain operations in the sector.
Adesina said gas supply remains a challenge and called for the release of 800 million cubic feet of gas from the Nigeria LNG to improve supply to power plants.
Other attendees at the meeting included chief of staff to the president Femi Gbajabiamila, coordinating minister of the economy and finance minister Wale Edun, minister of information Mohammed Idris and other government officials and stakeholders in the electricity sector.
