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The Federal Government has raised about N1.23 trillion through two bond issuances under its programme to settle the N4 trillion legacy debt owed to electricity Generation Companies (GenCos).
The Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Akin Odeyemi, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at the completion ceremony for the second series of the debt reduction programme.
Odeyemi said the Series 2 bond raised N728.9 billion, following the N501 billion secured through Series 1 in January.
He said 11 GenCos participated in the latest issuance, compared with eight companies in the first series, describing the increased participation as a sign of growing confidence in the programme.
According to him, the Series 2 bond would be implemented in two tranches, identified as Tranches A and B.
Odeyemi said the accumulated debts had weakened the financial position of participants in the electricity market and constrained GenCos’ ability to invest in additional generation capacity.
He said the debt reduction programme should not be viewed solely as a mechanism for settling historical obligations but as part of broader efforts to restore liquidity, financial confidence and sustainability to the power sector.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the Series 2 issuance comprised N402 billion in cash bonds and N326.9 billion in non-cash bonds allocated to participating GenCos.
Oyedele said the transaction addressed accumulated legacy obligations that had weakened liquidity and undermined confidence across the electricity value chain.
He stressed that settling the debts must be accompanied by reforms to prevent similar obligations from accumulating in the future.
“This means that the bond programme cannot stand alone,” Oyedele said, calling for stronger market discipline, improved revenue assurance and reductions in technical and commercial losses.
The minister also advocated greater efficiency and accountability across the electricity value chain, while stressing the importance of leveraging Nigeria’s domestic capital market to address sector challenges.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mahmuda Mamman, said the bond issuance demonstrated the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing structural problems in the electricity industry.
He said the initiative would strengthen the financial position of the sector and support efforts to achieve more stable electricity supply and sustainable development.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Oil and Gas, Olu Verheijen, said Series 1 resulted in settlement agreements with 11 GenCos covering 21 power plants.
Verheijen said Series 2 would deepen and expand implementation of the debt reduction programme, noting that the first series had demonstrated the viability of the model.
“As important as it is, you would agree that scaling is what truly makes the difference,” she said.
