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Tinubu seeks time to verify N4tn GENCO debt

Published

1 year ago

July 26, 2025

President Bola Tinubu on Friday asked electricity generation companies to grant the Federal Government more time to “do verification and validation of the numbers” on longstanding liabilities the power market says it is owed.

He also gave anticipatory approval for a N4tn bond programme to plug the sector’s liquidity hole.

This followed the President’s meeting with the Association of Power Generation Companies, led by Col. Sani Bello (retd.), at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed details of Friday’s talks in a statement titled, ‘President Tinubu meets Chairmen of GENCOs, pledges to resolve longstanding debt claims.’

Nigeria privatised its generation and distribution assets in 2013, but chronic under-recovery of tariffs, unpaid subsidies, gas supply constraints, weak transmission capacity and pervasive energy theft have kept the market cash-strapped.

The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company routinely pays GENCOs a fraction of their monthly invoices, creating an ever widening arrears book that is then financed with short-term bank debt at double digit interest rates.

The signing of the Electricity Act 2023 by President Tinubu pushed for cost reflective tariffs, metering programmes and transmission upgrades and lifted collections.

However, legacy debts and gas under-supply still threaten generation capacity and fresh investment.

With banks tightening exposure limits, GENCOs warned that foreclosures could cascade through the value chain without an immediate government backed settlement plan.

At Friday’s meeting, President Tinubu acknowledged the historic arrears but insisted payments would be anchored on a transparent audit.

“I accept the assets and liabilities of my predecessors, and there is no question about that. But that acceptance must be on credible grounds.

“I need to wear the audit cap of verifiability, authenticity, and the fact that this inheritance is not a mere deodorant but a support structure for critical economic and industrial promotion,” he stated.

The President appealed for patience from GENCOs and lenders while government firms engage auditors and lawyers to scrub the claims.

“We are here. So, market it to your other colleagues. Give us time to do verification and validation of the numbers,” he said.

Reiterating his preference for a market-driven power industry, Tinubu said the sector’s “long neglected legacy issues” are finally being addressed.

The President also cautioned banks against pulling the plug on indebted GENCOS.

“This is a longstanding issue that is now being dealt with. I know how much we have been able to save on fuel subsidies. We introduced the alternative, CNG, to bring relief back to the people.

“To our friends in the banking sector, I ask that we avoid foreclosures. Sharpen your pencils, but keep an eraser handy. Let’s persevere together,” he stated.

Describing electricity as “the most important discovery of humanity in the last 1,000 years,” Tinubu reaffirmed that access to power was fundamental to growth and human dignity.

The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said the administration was confronting a decade long cash crunch rooted in tariff and market shortfalls.

Verheijen disclosed that, “As of April 2025, the Federal Government is carrying a verified exposure of N4tn in debts to GENCOs, an accumulation dating back to 2015.

“We have since sat with 27 GENCOs—not all of them are here today—and reviewed their PPAs and gas sales agreements to understand the legitimacy of their claims. The GENCOs claimed about N4tn from 2015 to the end of 2023.”

According to her, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company has validated N1.8tn of these claims so far.

“Since that period, we have had N200bn in unfunded subsidies that have accumulated the Federal Government’s liability. So, as of April 2025, the total exposure that we are carrying at the moment is N4tn,” she added.

However, she warned that the figure remained subject to downward revision, pending final validation.

“While there is an anticipatory approval of this N4tn bond programme, it is subject to negotiations and final settlement of agreements. Only the amounts that the Federal Government validly owes are the things that will make it into the issuance by DMO,” Verheijen noted.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, commended President Tinubu for the attention given to the power sector, stating that the administration’s reforms had restored investors’ confidence and improved performance across the electricity value chain.

“Your Excellency, your presence at this meeting is a clear testament to your unwavering commitment to the sustainability, stability, and long-term development of Nigeria’s power sector. Under your leadership, we have recorded critical milestones in less than two years,” the minister said.

Adelabu said the Tinubu administration signed into law the Electricity Act, 2023, decentralising and liberalising the electricity market.

He noted that the administration had launched Nigeria’s first Integrated National Electricity Policy in 24 years, attracted over $2bn in new private capital, and grown sector annual revenue by 70 per cent—from N1tn in 2023 to N1.7tn in 2024—reducing government subsidy obligations by over N700bn.

Adelabu added that installed generation capacity had grown from 13,000 MW to 14,000 MW, with an all-time peak generation of 5,801 MW and a record maximum daily energy delivery of 120,370 MWh, achieved on March 4, 2025.

According to him, there has been no national grid collapse in 2025, a direct result of interventions under the Presidential Power Initiative, which has added over 700 MW of transmission capacity.

He reported progress in narrowing Nigeria’s metering gap through the N700bn Presidential Metering Initiative (via FAAC) and the World Bank supported DISREP, which has already delivered 300,000 smart meters out of 3.45 million procured.

While acknowledging these strides, Adelabu cautioned that the sector is grappling with an urgent liquidity crisis that could undermine ongoing reforms.

“Mr. President, given the grave implications of this debt overhang, including the risk of a nationwide shutdown of generation assets, I humbly seek your immediate support for defraying these obligations, even if partially, over a defined period,” he stated.

In separate remarks, business leaders, Tony Elumelu and Kola Adesina, appealed for urgent intervention.

“Mr. President, we’ve come to you as a last hope. The generating companies are heavily indebted to banks, and foreclosure threats are real, not because we’re not doing our jobs, but because the system owes us trillions,” Elumelu said.

He added, “Before you took office in 2023, we lost 97 per cent of our daily oil production. Today, we are retaining 98 per cent. That’s transformation. Investors are seeing greater stability and predictability. We don’t need power to complete your transformation, we need power to enable it. Power is critical to unlocking Nigeria’s full potential. We urge you to help solve this debt problem.”

Adesina also stressed liquidity and gas supply: “Liquidity is the oxygen of our business. Without urgent intervention, generation capacity will stall, and Nigeria’s industrial and economic ambitions will be jeopardised.

“The plants in the Afam axis are underperforming because we have not paid gas suppliers. We propose unlocking 800 million cubic feet of gas through NLNG to boost supply to these power plants.”

Friday’s meeting was attended by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila; Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance Minister Wale Edun; Minister of Information Mohammed Idris; and other senior officials, regulators and stakeholders — underscoring the political and financial weight now being thrown at the sector’s decade-old debt gridlock.

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Belgian parliament to legislate to allow police to enter homes to facilitate undocumented migrant removals

Published

12 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Belgian police will soon be able, in conjunction with the Immigration Office (DVZ), to enter the homes of undocumented migrants who pose a threat to public order or national security. This is set out in a bill drafted by the Belgian Asylum and Migration Minister, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (Flemish nationalist N-VA), and Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (Flemish Christian democrat CD&V), which has now been approved by the House Home Affairs Committee. The proposal still needs to be OKed during a plenary session of the lower house of the Belgian parliament.

Home searches like these are controversial. The aim is to make it easier to deport people residing here illegally and who persistently refuse to cooperate with efforts to facilitate their return.

The new law will make this possible. Following entry into the home, the police may place the person in question – that is, the individual who poses a threat to public order or national security – under administrative detention. However, prior authorisation from an investigating judge is required to enter the home.

Speaking to press agency Belga, Minister Van Bossuyt referred to this as “an historic breakthrough” and had previously said that this “is the final piece in a firm but humane return policy”.

“This is not a witch-hunt against people who have international protection or are simply in the country illegally (..) The law sets out clear conditions, and a search of a home can only take place with the authorisation of an investigating judge.”

(Overly) broad definitions

The bill did, however, attract a great deal of comment and was extensively discussed in parliament.

The opposition, the federal police, investigating judges and lawyers alike were highly critical. They believe that the exact meaning of ‘a threat to public order or national security’ has not been defined clearly enough.

“It will be up to the investigating judge to determine whether someone poses a threat to public order or national security,” says Van Bossuyt. “The judge will independently assess whether that person poses such a threat. That is a crucial test.”

Minister Van Bossuyt finds the debate strange: “The concepts of public order and national security feature in many parts of our legislation. Nowhere is a specific list provided of what they entail.” What is more, according to Van Bossuyt, the Council of State, which vets Belgian draft legislation, has explicitly stated that it is not desirable to define these concepts, as they may evolve over time.

“When the Justice Minister drafts new legislation, she isn’t asked how judges should apply that law, is she?” Van Bossuyt notes.

Van Bossuyt has also tabled an amendment to her own bill: “We have given investigating judges more time to reach a decision, from 5 days to 7.”

She emphasises that their role is not merely reduced to that of a ‘rubber-stamp judge’: “The investigating judge will absolutely not be a rubber-stamp judge, precisely because they play such a crucial role in assessing whether someone poses a threat or not. They will have access to the full case file.”

What about minors?

Another point of criticism concerns the rights of minors. According to critics, these are not sufficiently safeguarded. Government party Les Engagés (Francophone centrist) was only prepared to vote for the bill if greater protection for minors was provided.

“When authorising a search of a home, the investigating judge must determine all the conditions under which that search may take place,” explains Van Bossuyt. “If, for example, children are present, the investigating judge can stipulate that the search must take place during school hours. In that case, the likelihood of children being present is very low.”

The investigating judge may also, for example, require a psychologist to be present during the search, says Van Bossuyt. “So, the possible presence of minors has certainly been taken into account.”

The minister also points to the responsibility of the person who poses a threat to public order or national security: “It is that person who is making life difficult for those children,” says the minister.

Desperately needed, according to Van Bossuyt

Government party, Les Engagés, did not secure all the amendments it had requested, so MP Xavier Dubois boycotted the second reading. However, his group leader, Aurore Tourneur, did defend the amendments in the House Home Affairs Committee.

This enabled the majority to approve the bill after all, with the support of the Flemish liberal opposition party Anders. Although they, too, called for further amendments.

The left-wing opposition parties voted against. The far-right Vlaams Belang abstained. According to MP Francesca Van Belleghem, the law has been “so watered down by coalition negotiations that it will have virtually no effect in practice”.

‘This was a sensitive bill for several government parties: that’s no secret. In practice, there was an absolute need for this,’ concludes Van Bossuyt.

The bill must now be put to a vote during a plenary session, where the law can be definitively approved.

Speaking to Belga, the minister warned local authorities that have already announced they will not permit home visits, such as Leuven. “Be fully aware of what that choice means. If you refuse to implement this law and things go wrong, do not point the finger at the federal government afterwards. Because then you will be jeopardising the safety of your own residents” she said.

Source: VRT.BE

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Trump rules out new Iran attack before US midterm elections

Published

15 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

President Donald Trump ruled out Thursday attacking Iran before the US midterms on November 3, saying Washington was holding “productive discussions” with Tehran.

Trump’s announcement on his Truth Social platform followed a surge in oil prices driven by media reports suggesting potential new US strikes prior to the elections.

“I want to make it clear to everybody that, while Iran is in very bad condition, both economically and militarily, and while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect…we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections,” he wrote.

“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.

The Atlantic magazine reported on Wednesday that the White House had asked the Pentagon to develop options to strike Iranian targets that could be used before the midterms.

The New York Times said Thursday the plans were being developed despite Trump’s “ambivalence.”

The surge in crude oil prices has also been fueled by persistent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic chokepoint for the global oil trade — as well as hostilities between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

Polls suggest American voters are strongly dissatisfied with fuel prices, which have soared since US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28 triggered the conflict.

Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, rallied to as high as $105.88 a barrel on Thursday before retreating to $104.28.

– Putin vows to help –

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Thursday to “do everything” to help end the Middle East war when he met Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian for talks ahead of a regional summit, Russian media reported.

“We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation,” Putin said after arriving in Turkmenistan for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that starts Friday in the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza.

He added that Iran had made “real efforts to end the war,” according to Russian news agencies.

Russia and Iran have reinforced diplomatic and military links since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, becoming increasingly reliant on each other.

Trump has repeatedly insisted in recent weeks that the United States has effectively won the Iran war, despite ongoing unrest and a recent security threat that forced the withdrawal of American bombers from a base in England.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Tehran was “engaged in dialogue, but every time we negotiate with the United States, they attack again”, Iranian state media quoted him as saying at the talks with Putin.

Pezeshkian said the Islamic republic wanted to see a “final framework” to end the war.

But he accused the United States of “trying to impose its policies and views on all countries”.

“If the United States insists on pursuing a unilateral approach, a resolution will not be possible,” he said, according to state media.

– Approaching election –

The midterm elections will shape the final two years of Trump’s presidential term as his Republican Party risks losing its current grip on Congress.

Although Trump is not on the ballot, he is holding numerous rallies in an attempt to limit the damage or even turn the political tide.

Trump has warned he faces a possible third impeachment if Democrats retake the House of Representatives, and the White House is preparing for a slew of investigations into corruption and abuse of power.

The US president also sought to calm a furor on Thursday over his comments at a rally earlier this week that Iran could “take out” the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego.

The 80-year-old blamed the “fake and artificial news” for misinterpreting the remarks, which Democrats pounced on.

“In actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?” Trump said on Truth Social.

AFP

Source: punchng.com

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INEC displays voter register, begins PVC distribution ahead of 2027 elections

Published

16 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced the display of the preliminary register of voters and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards across states as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The seven-day exercise, which begins on Friday and runs through October 15, will allow registered voters to verify their details, raise claims and objections, and collect PVCs from the first phase of the Continuous Voter Registration conducted between August and December 2025.

In Plateau and Sokoto states, the respective Resident Electoral Commissioners announced that the exercise would take place at Registration Area centres, with PVC collection continuing at INEC offices at the local government level after the display period.

In a statement by the Plateau REC, Prof. Sam Egwu, made available to journalists in Jos on Thursday, the commission said the exercise was pursuant to Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates it to display the voter register not less than 90 days before the general elections.

He said, “The Independent National Electoral Commission, Plateau State, wishes to inform the good people of Plateau State that the commission will commence display of the Preliminary Register of Voters, attend to the hearing of claims and objections as well as collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) simultaneously in all the 207 Registration Areas in the state, from the 9th to 15th of October 2026 (7 days and weekends inclusive). Time is 9 am -3 pm daily.”

The statement asked all registered voters to take advantage of the opportunity to check their details.

“All registered voters are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to carefully check information they provided, such as their names, photographs, date of birth, polling units and other relevant registration details to make necessary claims and objections within this stipulated period as an accurate voter register is important for free and credible elections,” the REC said.

He further disclosed that PVCs from the first phase of the CVR exercise conducted from August 18, 2025 to December 10, 2025, would be available for collection during the exercise.

In Sokoto, the REC, Umar Garba, while briefing journalists on the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, said the exercise was part of INEC’s activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

Garba, who was at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre, said the commission was committed to ensuring that eligible voters were given the opportunity to verify their registration details and collect their PVCs.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission will commence the display of the preliminary register of voters for claims and objections, as well as the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards from the 9th to the 15th of October 2026,” Garba said.

He said PVCs relating to lost or damaged cards, transfers, updates and registrations conducted during the second and third phases of the CVR were not yet ready for collection.

Garba said the commission would announce when the affected PVCs became available.

He added that after the exercise at the Registration Area level ended on October 15, distribution would continue at INEC offices in the 23 local government areas of the state.

“This will enable eligible voters who could not collect their cards at the Registration Area level to do so,” he said.

On security, Garba said INEC had continued to take the advice of security agencies into consideration throughout the voter registration process.

“Throughout the registration of voters held recently, the commission took the advice of security agencies very seriously. This contributed to a safe process without any casualties,” he said.

He assured eligible voters that INEC would work to ensure that PVCs were distributed across the state.

On internally displaced persons, Garba said the commission was engaging security agencies to establish the number of IDPs in Sokoto and determine how they could participate in the 2027 elections.

“The commission is always talking with security agencies to ascertain the number of IDPs in the state. We are working to ensure that they vote once they are in official and recognised camps,” he said.

The REC also said INEC would release the total number of registered voters in Sokoto State at the appropriate time.

Source: punchng.com

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