Power sector reforms converting liabilities into opportunities – Verheijen
Presidency official Olu Verheijen announced that ongoing power sector reforms have converted legacy liabilities into bankable investment opportunities.
Presidency official Olu Verheijen announced that ongoing power sector reforms have converted legacy liabilities into bankable investment opportunities. The Federal Government deployed ₦501 billion under Series I of the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme to clear verified debt obligations, restoring market liquidity and attracting fresh private capital to stabilise the energy grid.
The initiative 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) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to validate outstanding claims and negotiate debt-settlement agreements. More than 600 participants joined the virtual investor forum, including banks, pension funds, insurance firms, issuing houses, asset managers and family offices.
Verheijen described the development as a clear signal that the administration is transitioning from groundwork to accelerated implementation, with a focus on consolidating gains recorded over the past three years. The reforms have been anchored on rebuilding institutional credibility and creating a more predictable policy environment, factors widely seen as critical to attracting both domestic and foreign investment into Nigeria’s historically underperforming energy market.
The programme aims to settle verified legacy debts owed to electricity generation companies and restore liquidity across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry . The government is set to open a ₦729 billion Series II bond offer on 3 August 2026 under the programme .
This echoes the 2010s power sector reform efforts, which also sought to attract private investment and improve liquidity. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a sector struggling to escape the cycle of debt and underinvestment.
The winners: generation companies and gas suppliers, who will finally receive payment for services rendered; and the Nigerian electricity sector, which gains much-needed liquidity. The losers: Nigerian consumers, who have borne the cost of the sector’s dysfunction; and the Nigerian government, which must continue to subsidise the sector.
Bottom Line: The government says power sector reforms are converting debt into investment. The question is whether the reforms will finally deliver the reliable electricity that Nigerians have been waiting for.