President Bola Tinubu has approved a ₦3.3 trillion payment plan to settle debts crippling Nigeria’s power sector, in a move the presidency says will restore more reliable electricity supply across the country.
The announcement was made in a Sunday statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, with the debt repayment plan following a final review of legacy debts that have beset the power sector for more than a decade.
The long standing debts accumulated between February 2015 and March 2025, and following verification, ₦3.3 trillion has been agreed as a full and final settlement, ensuring a fair and transparent resolution.
According to Naija News Break, implementation, the presidency said, is already underway. Fifteen power plants have signed settlement agreements totalling ₦2.3 trillion. The Federal Government has already raised ₦501 billion to fund the payments, out of which ₦223 billion has been disbursed, with further payments underway.
The Special Adviser on Energy to President Tinubu, Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, framed the move as part of a wider sector overhaul. She said the programme is not just about settling legacy debts but about restoring confidence across the power sector ensuring gas suppliers are paid, power plants can keep running, and the system begins to work more reliably. She added that it is part of a broader set of reforms already underway, including better metering and service based tariffs that link what customers pay to the quality of electricity they receive.
The government said it is also prioritising power supply to businesses, industries, and small enterprises, noting that reliable electricity is critical to creating jobs, supporting livelihoods, and growing the economy.
The announcement comes amid sustained public frustration over Nigeria’s electricity crisis as power generation on the national grid had dropped below 4,000 megawatts earlier in March, largely due to persistent gas supply shortages affecting thermal power plants with gas suppliers threatening to halt supply entirely over the ₦3.3 trillion debt.