The Association of Power Generation Companies has firmly rejected claims that ₦2.8 trillion represents a newly verified and final settlement of legacy debts owed to electricity generation companies, describing the figure as inaccurate and misleading.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer of the association, Joy Ogaji, said reports suggesting that the ₦2.8 trillion had been validated as the government’s confirmed liability do not reflect the outcome of any officially concluded reconciliation process. She challenged those behind the claim to publicly disclose the basis and methodology used in arriving at the figure.
According to her, the debt in question stems from bilateral commercial agreements executed within the framework of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. She emphasised that these are not arbitrary claims but contractual obligations arising from electricity generated, dispatched to the national grid, and consumed under regulated tariff structures.
Ogaji explained that the determination of outstanding liabilities follows a verifiable process. Electricity generated by GenCos is metered, documented, and captured under established market procedures. The megawatts dispatched to the grid form the basis for invoices issued in accordance with market rules, while settlement reports are prepared by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. Any reconciliation or audit, she stressed, must be conducted transparently and in strict compliance with the contractual agreements governing the market.
She further disclosed that no additional reconciliation meeting had been convened following a tripartite exercise earlier in the year involving GenCos, NBET, the Ministry of Finance, and the Office of the Special Adviser on Energy. She noted that after that reconciliation, President Bola Tinubu had approved ₦4 trillion in recognition of verified legacy obligations, following what she described as due process and formal engagement.
Ogaji stated that generation companies participated in the reconciliation process in good faith and subsequently engaged financial institutions, gas suppliers, and investors based on the understanding reached at the time. She warned that revising figures outside the established reconciliation framework could undermine contractual sanctity and weaken investor confidence in a sector already facing significant challenges.
The association maintained that it retains confidence in the President and expects that all further discussions regarding outstanding liabilities will be conducted transparently and within the framework of existing bilateral agreements.
Addressing the broader issues affecting the sector, Ogaji attributed the persistent liquidity crisis in the power industry to structural factors rather than arbitrary demands by generation companies. These challenges include tariff shortfalls under regulated pricing, chronic market settlement deficits, exposure to foreign exchange volatility, and the accumulation of unpaid invoices over the years.
Nigeria’s power sector has continued to grapple with mounting debts since the 2013 privatisation of the industry. Generation companies have repeatedly expressed concern that delayed payments and settlement gaps constrain their ability to meet obligations to gas suppliers and service lenders, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of electricity generation.
Against this backdrop, the association insisted that any effort to alter previously reconciled figures without formal engagement risks eroding market stability at a time when the sector urgently requires renewed investment, financial discipline, and policy consistency.
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