FG Is Yet To Pay N3.3tn Power Debt Approved By Tinubu – GenCos

Electricity in Nigeria

Power generation companies have said the Federal Government is yet to begin the payment of the N3.3tn power sector debt approved by President Bola Tinubu in April. CEO of the Association of Power Generation Companies, APGC, Joy Ogaji, recently had her say during a webinar organised by the group.

According to Ogaji, no payment has been made to most generation companies under the debt settlement arrangement despite official assurances that implementation of the settlement plan has commenced.

Joy added that the N501bn bond earlier raised by the government is still being disbursed.

Her words, “You know that this acceptance of the government is like a moving target. Earlier, the government said the debt was N2.3tn. About a month or two after, it increased to N2.8tn.

The last one was N3.3tn before they appointed a new special adviser on power. Now, let me tell you that from that N3.3tn or N2.8tn, to date, we have not received a dime. Nothing has been received by the GenCos.

The N500bn bond that they said they raised by December and January this year, as I speak to you, they’ve not even finished disbursing. I believe that they are planning the disbursement until the end of the election.

We have not accepted N3.3tn; the GenCos have not accepted it because when we reconciled our debt to the gas suppliers, we owed them over N4tn.

And we also engaged the gas suppliers to tell them that the government was proposing to remove 50 per cent of what we are requesting, 70 per cent of which money belongs to the gas suppliers.

We ask them if we should accept. They responded and said we’re on our own. The gasCos said they didn’t have any contract with the government, but we continue to owe them to the last dime, and they are not going to concede to even one naira.

When the FG floated the N500bn bond, they said they would give GenCos 50 per cent, that is, a 50 per cent cut of their current debts. The GenCos rejected it, except for five: Geregu, Ibom Power, FIPL, NDPHC, and Mabon Energy. These are the five receiving payments; they signed that bond.

Nothing has been done about the N3.3tn or the N6.8tn, which has now ballooned to over N7tn, and still growing.”

WOW.