A fresh dispute has erupted over the Federal Government’s electricity market debt settlement programme after the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, insisted that the first tranche of the N501 billion bond approved for electricity generation companies (GenCos) has been fully paid. He revealed this while speaking with journalists at the commissioning of the 505-kilowatt peak (kWp) interconnected solar mini-grid in Lagos State. The disagreement, however, underscores renewed tensions in Nigeria’s power sector liquidity crisis, estimated at N3.33 trillion in legacy obligations, which the Federal Government is attempting to restructure through a bond-backed repayment framework approved by President Bola Tinubu. Speaking on the intervention, Tegbe said the government had commenced structured settlement of verified claims and maintained that the first tranche of the N501 billion had already been disbursed to GenCos. “It has been resolved already. The total debt estimate was about N3.33 trillion. President Tinubu approved raising a bond and making cash available to pay the GenCos. After verification, the first tranche of the N501 billion was paid to GenCos. The second tranche is due sometime in July. The minister said the broader objective of the intervention was not only to settle outstanding obligations but to prevent further accumulation of debt within the electricity market.

Guardian