How the Nigerian Government Quietly Cut ₦700 Billion from Its Verified Debt to Power Companies
TheDigger Intelligence Unit
EDITOR’S NOTE: On April 5, 2026, TheDigger sent right-of-reply letters to the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, NBET, the Debt Management Office, and APGC, requesting responses by April 8. As of publication on April 9, no agency had replied or acknowledged receipt.
The Presidency’s April 5, 2026 announcement of a ₦3.3 trillion “full and final settlement” of power sector debts is ₦700 billion less than what President Tinubu’s government publicly acknowledged nine months earlier—without a published reconciliation document, audit, or explanation.
On Sunday, April 5, 2026, the Presidency issued a statement through Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga declaring that President Bola Tinubu had approved a payment plan to settle outstanding debts under the Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme. The debts, accumulated between February 2015 and March 2025, had been verified, the statement said, and “₦3.3 trillion has been agreed as a full and final settlement, ensuring a fair and transparent resolution.”
The announcement quoted the Special Adviser on Energy, Mrs Olu Arowolo-Verheijen (also referred to as Olu Verheijen in some official releases), on restoring confidence across the power sector, ensuring reliable electricity for homes, and delivering jobs and investment. It stated that 15 power plants had signed settlement agreements totalling ₦2.3 trillion. It said the Federal Government had raised ₦501 billion and disbursed ₦223 billion. It added that Series II of the programme would begin within the quarter.
What the statement did not say was this: nine months earlier, on July 25, 2025, at a formal meeting in the Presidential Villa with the chairmen of electricity generation companies, Mrs. Olu Arowolo-Verheijen had publicly disclosed a verified government exposure of ₦4 trillion — and President Tinubu had granted anticipatory approval for a ₦4 trillion bond programme to address the liquidity shortfall.
The ₦700 billion gap between the two figures has never been explained. No reconciliation document has been published. No independent audit report has been released. No government official has accounted for the difference. As far as the public record is concerned, the money simply disappeared between July 2025 and April 2026.
This is the story of how it happened.
THE MEETING THAT SET THE FIGURE
On July 25, 2025, President Tinubu received the leadership of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The delegation was led by Col. Sani Bello (rtd). The meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and Mrs Olu Arowolo-Verheijen. A State House statement issued the following day (July 26, 2025) captured the disclosures.
Mrs Olu Arowolo-Verheijen stated that as of April 2025, “the Federal Government is carrying a verified exposure of ₦4 trillion in debts to GENCOs, accumulated since 2015.” NBET has validated ₦1.8 trillion of these claims, with the rest explained by ₦200 billion in monthly unfunded subsidies. On this basis, she announced that President Tinubu granted “anticipatory approval” for a ₦4 trillion bond programme to address the liquidity shortfall.
She included this explicit caveat: “While there is an anticipatory approval of this ₦4 trillion bond programme, it is subject to negotiations and final settlement of agreements. Only the amounts that the federal government validly owes…”
For the generation companies leaving the meeting, the practical message was clear. APGC CEO Dr Joy Ogaji later said that, on the basis of the July 2025 commitment, “financial institutions, gas suppliers, and investors were engaged.” Real business decisions with real financial exposure were made against that number.
THE DEED THEY WERE ASKED TO SIGN
Less than three months later, the government sent a different message.
On October 7, 2025, senior government officials — Edun, Adelabu, and Arowolo-Verheijen — met again with GenCo executives in Abuja to review settlement modalities. A government statement said the meeting “concluded with a consensus on the way forward.” Nine days later, on October 16, 2025, the government dispatched two contract documents to every power generation company: the NBET Deed of Settlement and the Deed of Novation.
As reported by Vanguard and The ICIR, the documents required GenCos to forfeit approximately 50% of the debt owed to them (in the region of ₦5 trillion in claims at the time) as a full and final settlement, while permanently extinguishing all other claims.
The relevant clause of the Deed of Settlement read:
“GenCo hereby accepts the sum of [Settlement Amount] as the full and final settlement of the outstanding Legacy Debt, including any interest thereon and any other claim for losses, whether present or future and whether known or unknown, in respect of the Legacy Debt.”
A second clause stated:
“NBET’s obligation to pay the Settlement Amount to GenCo shall be novated to Bond SPV via the Novation Agreement, and upon its execution, Bond SPV shall be solely responsible for payment of the Settlement Amount.”
The documents further provided that the GenCo agrees the Settlement Amount extinguishes its right to any claims to the Legacy Debt, “including any contractual claims for losses whatsoever and howsoever arising, whether from deemed capacity, true-ups and interest on delayed payment of substantive invoice amounts, true-up compensations or deemed capacity payments…”
This carried a material undisclosed risk: GenCos would surrender contractual claims against NBET (a licensed regulatory market participant operating under NERC) and accept instead claims against an SPV (NBET Bond Finance Company Plc) whose full ownership structure, regulatory authorisation, and legal standing had not been publicly disclosed.
The industry’s response was unambiguous. Dr Joy Ogaji told The ICIR that “if the proposal sells through, this will kill the GenCOs completely.” An advisory document commissioned by APGC and subsequently obtained by Financial Vanguard described specific provisions in the bond documentation as “death warrants” for generation companies.
The government pressed ahead regardless.
THE FAKE NEWS THAT WASN’T
By February 2026, reports attributed to sources close to the Presidency claimed that President Tinubu had approved ₦2.8 trillion as the verified legacy debt settlement. APGC issued a formal public statement on February 23/24, 2026. Dr Joy Ogaji described the ₦2.8 trillion report as “completely inaccurate” and “fake news,” demanding that whoever produced the figure explain its derivation. She stated that no further reconciliation meeting had been convened by NBET after the March 2025 tripartite exercise, and no new audit had taken place.
She reiterated the only formally acknowledged number: the ₦4 trillion from the July 2025 tripartite reconciliation and Presidential approval. The government issued no public rebuttal.
THE FOURTH FIGURE
On April 5, 2026, the Presidency announced a ₦3.3 trillion “full and final settlement” following a “final review of the legacy debts.” It did not name the reviewing body, disclose the methodology, or indicate whether generation companies participated. It offered no explanation for the ₦700 billion reduction from the July 2025 figure and made no reference to the October 2025 deeds or the substantial haircut they demanded. No reconciliation document or independent verification was published.
The announcement revealed that, by the bond signing ceremony on January 27, 2026, five companies covering 14 plants had signed for ₦827.16 billion; the total had since grown to 15 plants and ₦2.3 trillion.
WHAT THE NUMBERS ACTUALLY SAY
July 25/26, 2025: State House confirms verified exposure of ₦4 trillion; anticipatory approval for ₦4 trillion bond programme (subject to negotiations).
August 2025: Federal Executive Council endorses the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme with a ₦4 trillion ceiling.
October 16, 2025: Deeds dispatched requiring ~50% settlement with full extinguishment and novation clauses. GenCos rejected the proposal.
February 2026: Unverified ₦2.8 trillion reports rejected by APGC as “fake news”; no new reconciliation conducted.
April 5, 2026: ₦3.3 trillion announced as the final figure. No public reconciliation or audit has been released.
Throughout this period, the ₦200 billion monthly shortfall (confirmed by Mrs Olu Arowolo-Verheijen in July 2025) continued, adding an estimated ₦2.6 trillion in new arrears between March 2025 and March 2026. As of February 2026, APGC’s publicly stated total debt figure stood at ₦6.8 trillion, projected to reach ₦7 trillion by the end of March 2026.
WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE RECORD
The following material facts remain undisclosed:
The identity and individual settlement amounts of all 15 plants that have signed agreements.
The full ownership structure, regulatory basis, and legal standing of the Bond SPV (NBET Bond Finance Company Plc).
Whether the extinguishment and novation clauses from the October 2025 deeds are present in the agreements signed to date.
Any independent audit or reconciliation report explaining the drop from ₦4 trillion to ₦3.3 trillion.
The full August 2025 FEC memorandum.
The total interest cost to taxpayers under the bond programme and the names of subscribers to the Series 1 bond.
A credible mechanism to prevent the ₦200 billion monthly shortfall from continuing to generate fresh arrears.
Nigerians are entitled to see the primary documents on which the government’s claim that the largest financial intervention in the history of the power sector rests.
RIGHT OF REPLY: No responses had been received from the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, NBET, the Debt Management Office, or APGC as of the morning of April 9, 2026. Any substantive response received will be published in full.
This report is part of the GovSpend Files, TheDigger’s ongoing investigation into undisclosed public expenditure at federal agencies.
