Nigeria Raises N729bn to Settle Power Sector Debts

The federal government of Nigeria has finalized Phase 1 of its N4 trillion Power Sector Multi-Instrument Issuance Programme, successfully raising a total of N1.23 trillion across two bond series to address legacy debts owed to electricity generation companies (GenCos) and inject liquidity into the electricity market. The final component of Phase 1, the Series 2 Power Sector Bond, raised N728.979 billion, complementing the N501 billion raised in the Series 1 issuance in January 2026.

The bond issuance was conducted by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) Finance Company Plc and includes N402 billion in cash bonds and N326.979 billion in non-cash bonds for GenCos involved in the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme. Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, emphasized the importance of disciplined implementation of reforms following this completion.

Rilwan Lanre Babalola, President on Power, cautioned that resolving legacy debts alone will not solve Nigeria's power issues, urging attention to the causes of new debt accumulation.