N4.7tn debt: FG yet to meet GenCos despite promises

Nearly two months after the Federal Government promised that President Bola Tinubu would meet with power generation companies (GenCos) to discuss the N4.7tn debt owed to them, the GenCos say they are still waiting to hear from the government.

Last month, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, announced that the government planned to pay N2tn out of the N4.7tn debt by the end of the next quarter. But according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Joy Ogaji, there has been no communication yet from the Federal Government regarding the promised meeting.

Asked if a date had been set or if the GenCos had received any official contact about the meeting, Ogaji simply replied, “Not yet. We are still waiting.” She had previously urged Tinubu to act quickly, warning that delays could worsen liquidity challenges in the power sector.

The Federal Government’s plan for the meeting followed a high-level discussion in May between the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the chairmen of GenCos in Abuja. At that meeting, concerns were raised about the risk of a national grid collapse due to the sector’s financial strain.