The federal government on Tuesday intensified efforts to raise a fresh N729 billion from the capital market to deepen liquidity in the power sector, following the successful N501 billion maiden issuance earlier this year, assuring investors that reforms underway in the electricity industry are already yielding results.
The assurances were given at the Project Hoover Series II Investor Forum in Abuja, attended by top government officials, including the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele as well as the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen.
Others in attendance included: The Special Adviser to the President on Power, Lanre Babalola, erstwhile Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Johnson Akinnawo, Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), development partners, financial institutions and other market participants.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Oyedele, said the bond programme represented a tested model for mobilising long-term capital into critical infrastructure.
He noted that the N501 billion maiden issuance had been fully subscribed and subsequently listed on both the Nigerian Exchange and FMDQ Exchange before successfully meeting its repayment obligations. “We return not with promises but with evidence,” Oyedele said.
He explained that persistent tariff shortfalls, settlement gaps, mounting debts to generation companies and weak liquidity had constrained investment in the electricity sector for years, necessitating a market-based solution.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu approved a comprehensive review of power sector liabilities in July 2024, leading to the establishment of the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Committee (PPSDRC).
He said the initiative had helped create an investable framework supported by government guarantees while leveraging private capital to finance critical infrastructure.
Oyedele disclosed that the government intends to replicate the financing model across other strategic sectors, including housing, transportation, agriculture and technology.
“Stability is only the beginning. The next phase is investment, productivity, and shared prosperity. We need to finance our growth differently because public resources alone will never be sufficient to meet the scale of infrastructure investment Nigeria requires.
“Private capital must play a larger role, and our responsibility as government is to create investable opportunities supported by sound policy, credible institutions, and appropriate risk allocation. The bond is exactly that model. The government provides the policy framework and the guarantee. The capital market mobilises long-term savings, institutional investors provide patient capital, and the power sector receives the liquidity it needs to grow. Everybody wins.
“This is precisely the type of partnership we intend to replicate across key infrastructure, including housing, transportation, agriculture, and technology,” the minister maintained.
In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Tegbe, said the government was creating a financially sustainable electricity market capable of attracting long-term private capital, stressing that reliable electricity remained indispensable to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
“There can be no sustained economic growth without reliable electricity, and there can be no reliable electricity without financially sustainable markets. That is the philosophy underpinning the reforms we are pursuing in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry,” Tegbe said.
According to him, unresolved historical obligations had remained a major impediment to fresh investment, making Project Hoover an economic reform initiative rather than merely another financing transaction.
“Our destination is clear: a financially sustainable, investment-led electricity market that powers Nigeria’s industrial renaissance. I encourage you to see this offering beyond a mere fixed-income instrument. It should be viewed as an opportunity to partner with the federal government in writing the next chapter of our economic story,” the minister said.
Recalling the success of the maiden issuance, Tegbe noted that investors had demonstrated confidence in the reform agenda by oversubscribing the N501 billion Series I bond.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said the administration had deliberately prioritised execution over expansion, arguing that governments seeking private capital must first demonstrate credibility by honouring their own obligations.
Providing details of the programme, Verheijen disclosed that the federal government deployed approximately N501 billion under Series I, comprising N300 billion in cash and roughly N201 billion through non-cash bond instruments, representing about 22 per cent of verified settlement obligations.
Verheijen added that N333.12 billion had already been settled to eight participating Generation Companies (Gencos) covering 17 power plants that signed participation agreements.
“Series I delivered on its promise. In February 2026, the federal government deployed approximately N501 billion, N300 billion in cash and roughly N201 billion through non-cash bond instruments, addressing approximately 22 per cent of the settlement obligations under executed Settlement Agreements, with the balance to be covered through Series II and subsequent issuances.
“To date, N333.12 billion has been settled to the eight participating generation companies, covering 17 power plants that have executed participation agreements. We met our obligation on schedule. The first Series I coupon of about N63.5 billion was paid in full on 14 July 2026,” she added.
The presidential aidemaintained that the programme was already producing tangible results, with participating generation companies now meeting payment obligations to gas suppliers, lenders and operations and maintenance contractors.
Representing the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), its erstwhile acting CEO, Akinnawo, said the inaugural issuance had demonstrated that Nigeria’s legacy electricity debts could be resolved through disciplined capital market instruments instead of repeated government promises.
“The proposition was that Nigerian legacy power sector debt, the kind that has sat on generation companies’ books for years, could be resolved through disciplined, transparent capital market instruments rather than endless promises.
“You answered that call. The N501 billion answered that call, and we met our promises. When the coupon and principal repayments fell due on July 14, the federal government ensured they were met on time,” he said.
Akinnawo disclosed that Series II had been structured at about N729 billion, maintaining that it retained the same discipline and governance standards that characterised the first issuance.
“I will not pretend to you that the power sector challenges are behind us. They are not. But I can tell you without hesitation that the federal government remains committed to fixing the market from its foundation,” he added.
Besides, the Special Adviser to the President on Power, Lanre Babalola, described the transaction as a landmark initiative aimed at restoring investor confidence and strengthening the commercial foundations of the electricity market.
According to him, reliable electricity underpins industrialisation, productivity, innovation, employment and improved living standards, making power sector reforms central to Nigeria’s development strategy.
“Our reforms are directed towards building a wholesale electricity market in which market participants compete fairly, contractual obligations are honoured, settlement discipline is strengthened and private capital invests with greater confidence,” Babalola stated.
He added that the government was simultaneously pursuing enhanced metering, improved energy accounting, stronger revenue assurance and targeted measures to reduce technical, commercial and collection losses across the electricity value chain.
Babalola noted that the Electricity Act 2023 had opened up opportunities for innovation and investment by creating state electricity markets alongside the national market, while emphasising the need for coherent implementation.
The Project Hoover initiative is designed to settle verified legacy debts owed across the electricity value chain while restoring liquidity, improving payment discipline and enhancing the commercial viability of Nigeria’s power market.
Emmanuel Addeh and Aminat Hassan
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