Nigerians continue to face widespread power outages as power generation companies (Gencos) struggle under mounting debts, Dr. Joy Ogaji, CEO and Executive Secretary of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), told Hard Facts on Wednesday.
“Most Nigerians must have heard me speak on various platforms calling that the Gencos are being owed over 6 trillion naira,” Dr. Ogaji said.
“This debt has been accumulating since 2015.
By the end of this month, it will hit 7 trillion naira.”
Dr. Ogaji explained that the payments from distribution companies are often far below the invoiced amounts.
“Sometimes they pay 10 naira, sometimes 20.
Currently the best they are paying is 35 naira,” she said.
The shortfall, she added, also affects gas suppliers, which provide about 75% of the fuel for Nigeria’s power generation.
“Finance is the lifeblood of any business.
Can any business survive in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world if it’s owed 6 trillion naira?
They cannot,” she said.
She said some Gencos can no longer maintain machines or pay staff salaries, with many units now offline.
“If you go on the Naiso site, you will see that not all machines are available anymore,” she noted.
Asked about government intervention, Dr. Ogaji said the Minister of Power has promised payments, but only a fraction of the debt may be addressed.
“Even the payment they are planning is about 300 billion out of 6.8 trillion,” she said.
Dr. Ogaji apologized to Nigerians, saying, “I am also a Nigerian. I live in the country. Whatever you are facing, I am also facing.”
The APGC CEO emphasized that immediate government action is critical to restore power and stabilize the sector.
