GenCos Seek Meeting With Tinubu Over ₦4.7 Trillion Debt

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Joy Ogaji, has expressed optimism to meet President Bola Tinubu over the ₦4.7tn power sector debt.

Ogaji disclosed that Gencos have chronicled their requests in a letter sent to the Federal Government.

Speaking to Punch, Ogaji stated that there is no date fixed for the meeting yet, but the Gencos want the meeting to take place as soon as possible.

Following a high-level meeting between the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and chairmen of Gencos in Abuja, amid mounting fears of a possible collapse of the national grid due to liquidity constraints in the sector, the government announced that Tinubu would meet with the generation companies.

The government pledged immediate action to reduce the ₦4.7tn debt owed to the Gencos.

A statement by the power minister’s Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, stated that the Federal Government had resolved to settle a substantial portion of the debt immediately, while the remainder would be cleared through financial instruments such as promissory notes within the next six months.

Ogaji, who was also at the meeting with the power minister, said that they have not being informed on when the meeting would take place.

Asked when the Gencos would like to meet the President over the non-payment of the debt, Ogaji said the meeting should be held “as soon as possible.”

She highlighted the challenges facing the power generation companies, including erratic gas supply, persistent defaults on payments, and foreign exchange volatility.

Speaking at the meeting, she noted that the dramatic depreciation of the naira—from ₦157 to $1 in 2013 to ₦1,600 to $1 now—had severely affected maintenance budgets and loan repayments.

“Gencos have borne unsustainable risks—from grid failures to unproductive taxes—while remaining patriotic,” she said.