President Bola Tinubu has given anticipatory approval for a massive N4 trillion bond programme aimed at rescuing Nigeria’s power sector from collapse, following mounting debts owed to electricity generation companies (GenCos).

This was revealed by the President’s Special Adviser on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen, after a high-level meeting with GenCos led by Col. Sani Bello (rtd) at the Presidential Villa on Friday.

According to Verheijen, the power sector is grappling with a liquidity crisis, mainly caused by unpaid tariffs and market shortfalls that have piled up since 2015. These shortfalls have left the government owing GenCos up to N4 trillion, severely threatening electricity supply nationwide.

“We sat with 27 GenCos to review their Power Purchase and Gas Sales Agreements,” Verheijen explained. “They claimed around N4 trillion for services rendered between 2015 and the end of 2023.”

So far, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) has verified N1.8 trillion of these claims. Another N200 billion in subsidies remains unpaid, pushing the total debt to around N4 trillion as of April 2025.

While the N4 trillion bond programme has received preliminary (anticipatory) approval, Verheijen noted that the actual bond will only cover debts that are validated by the government after negotiations.

“Only the legitimate and verified amounts will be included in the issuance by the Debt Management Office,” she clarified.

This announcement comes at a critical time, as GenCos had threatened to shut down electricity generation nationwide if their payments weren’t settled soon — a move that would have plunged the country into a deeper power crisis.

The federal government is now appealing for more time to complete validation and finalize payments.