Federal Government Unveils Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme

The federal government has announced the launch of the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme, an intervention aimed at restoring liquidity in Nigeria’s electricity market and rebuilding investor confidence.

The disclosure was made by the special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Olu Verheijen, through a post on her X handle on Wednesday.

Verheijen explained that the programme followed several months of intensive collaboration among key institutions, including the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Power, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and the power generation companies (GenCos). The teams worked together to validate outstanding claims and negotiate debt-settlement agreements designed to stabilise the sector.

The initiative was formally introduced during a virtual investor forum jointly convened by the Ministries of Finance and Power, alongside the Office of the Special Adviser on Energy.

According to her, the session featured remarks from the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun; the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and Verheijen.

She stated that more than 600 participants joined the event, including banks, pension funds, insurance firms, issuing houses, asset managers, family offices, trustees, and other institutional investors, reflecting broad interest in the government’s ongoing power-sector reforms.