Nigerian government raises 1.23 trillion naira
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Tribune Online
The Nigerian government has raised 1.23 trillion naira out of the 3.3 trillion planned to settle inherited debts owed to electricity producers, according to Energy Minister Joseph Tegbe. The fundraising reduced pressure on producers and strengthened their ability to pay for gas and maintain their power plants, he said.
The Nigerian federal government has raised 1.23 trillion naira out of the 3.3 trillion planned to settle verified historical debts owed to electricity generation companies. Nigerian Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe said the payments had reduced financial pressure on producers and strengthened their ability to pay for gas supplies and maintain their power plants, according to Tribune Online.
More than 2.8 million customers have been equipped with meters since Bola Tinubu’s administration came to power, also Joseph Tegbe said, in order to reduce collection losses. The Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA), which develops access to off-grid electricity, has meanwhile connected universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power, according to the minister.
Between 2023 and October 2026, more than 15,000 MVA of additional capacity was added to the national electricity transmission grid, including more than 1,300 MVA in the past two months. Joseph Tegbe said the additional capacity had enabled electricity distribution companies to have more power available for their industrial and residential customers, according to Tribune Online.
The minister also condemned acts of vandalism that disrupt electricity supplies. Construction of a new national grid control centre has begun in Osogbo to replace the current facility, which is more than 60 years old and nearing obsolescence, he added. The announcement comes after Joseph Tegbe unveiled the electricity grid plan on 27 October and Nigeria announced the addition of electricity transmission capacity on 11 November.
