Atiku: Gencos’ Revelation has Exposed Tinubu’s Power Debt Deception

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the latest revelations by the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) as the final collapse of the Tinubu administration’s carefully manufactured narrative on the settlement of power sector debts, saying Nigerians have now been presented with compelling evidence that the Federal Government’s repeated bond issuances have become an endless cycle of borrowing without accountability.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the startling disclosure by the Executive Secretary of the APGC, Dr. Joy Ogaji, that the much-publicised ₦501 billion bond has not even been fully disbursed, despite repeated government claims to the contrary, raises grave questions about transparency, fiscal discipline and the credibility of the administration’s economic management.

“Even more damning is her challenge to the Federal Government to publish the complete list of beneficiaries, the amounts paid to each generation company and the dates of such payments if indeed the money has been released.”

“Dr. Ogaji’s vivid description of the government’s token payment as “like rubbing oil on a crying child’s mouth to imply that he had eaten” perfectly captures the Tinubu administration’s approach to governance: grand announcements, impressive figures, glossy headlines, and very little substance.

“For months, Nigerians have been inundated with announcements of bond after bond supposedly floated to clear power sector debts. First came the promise of a ₦590 billion intervention. Then came the ₦501 billion bond, celebrated as a major breakthrough. Before long, the country was told about a multi-trillion-naira settlement programme. Today, another debt package is being contemplated while the very companies the government claims to have settled insist that the liabilities have continued to grow.

“This is no longer a policy failure. It is a crisis of credibility. The question is no longer whether the government is borrowing. The question is why Nigerians are repeatedly being asked to applaud fresh borrowing to solve a problem that government insists it solved only yesterday.

“If the earlier interventions worked, why is another intervention necessary? If the debts were substantially cleared, why are the creditors saying otherwise? If the government has faithfully discharged its obligations, why has the Association of Power Generation Companies publicly challenged the Minister’s claims and demanded documentary evidence?”

Atiku said the questions raised by the GenCos deserve answers, advising the Federal Government to immediately accept Dr. Ogaji’s challenge.

“Publish the names of every generation company that received payment. Publish the amount paid to each beneficiary. Publish the dates the payments were made. Publish the outstanding balances.”

“Public money cannot disappear into official press statements. Every naira borrowed in the name of Nigerians must be traceable to its destination.

“Sadly, this administration appears to believe that governance is an endless exercise in announcements. Every challenge is met with another ceremony. Every crisis is greeted with another headline. Every unresolved debt is answered with another borrowing plan. Yet electricity generation remains constrained, investors remain uncertain, businesses continue to spend fortunes powering themselves, and ordinary Nigerians still pay exorbitantly for darkness.

“A government that constantly changes the figures cannot expect citizens to trust its arithmetic. A government that celebrates disbursements which beneficiaries dispute cannot expect investors to trust its assurances. A government that asks future generations to repay debts incurred today has a moral obligation to account for every kobo borrowed.

“The Tinubu administration must stop moving the goalposts. It cannot continue to ask Nigerians to celebrate fresh debt while refusing to provide a transparent account of previous interventions. Governance is not measured by the size of bond issuances but by measurable outcomes. The objective is not to float more bonds; it is to solve the problem.

“The National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation and every institution charged with safeguarding public funds must insist on a comprehensive public audit of all power sector intervention funds raised under this administration. Nigerians deserve to know precisely how much has been borrowed, how much has been disbursed, who received the money, and why the debts continue to rise despite repeated claims of settlement.

“Darkness has become one of the most expensive commodities in Nigeria. The least Nigerians deserve is the truth. The Tinubu administration must understand that transparency is not an act of generosity; it is a constitutional obligation. Accountability is not optional. Public trust cannot be sustained on a diet of contradictory figures, shifting narratives and endless promises.

“Nigerians are tired of official declarations that dissolve upon contact with reality. They deserve a government that accounts for yesterday’s borrowing before asking them to underwrite tomorrow’s debt.”

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