A fresh dispute has erupted over the Federal Government’s electricity market debt settlement programme after the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, insisted that the first tranche of the N501 billion bond approved for electricity generation companies (GenCos) has been fully paid.

He revealed this while speaking with journalists at the commissioning of the 505-kilowatt peak (kWp) interconnected solar mini-grid in Lagos State.

The disagreement, however, underscores renewed tensions in Nigeria’s power sector liquidity crisis, estimated at N3.33 trillion in legacy obligations, which the Federal Government is attempting to restructure through a bond-backed repayment framework approved by President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on the intervention, Tegbe said the government had commenced structured settlement of verified claims and maintained that the first tranche of the N501 billion had already been disbursed to GenCos.

“It has been resolved already. The total debt estimate was about N3.33 trillion. President Tinubu approved raising a bond and making cash available to pay the GenCos. After verification, the first tranche of the N501 billion was paid to GenCos. The second tranche is due sometime in July.

“So, we’re on course. It is a bond that has been raised for seven years to ease liquidity. We are also plugging the hole that is creating such debt so it does not accumulate over and over again,” he said.

The minister said the broader objective of the intervention was not only to settle outstanding obligations but to prevent further accumulation of debt within the electricity market.

However, the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), through its Executive Secretary, Joy Ogaji, disputed the government’s position, insisting that disbursement remains significantly below the level claimed by authorities.

Ogaji referenced previous engagements with government officials, including discussions involving the former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) company.

“NBET said they are almost disbursing the 500 billion and will start the second tranche of the fund, which is going to be around N700 billion,” she said, stressing that the payment was not up to 50 per cent of the 501 billion.

“The payment made is like rubbing oil on a crying child’s mouth to imply that he had eaten.”

She challenged the Federal Government to publish details of payments made under the intervention, including beneficiaries and amounts disbursed to each generating company.

“I want to confirm to you that they have not even disbursed up to 50 per cent of the N501 billion. If they say they have, they should publish the name of the GenCos they have paid, how much and the total sum disbursed in the N501 billion,” she said.

She stressed transparency as critical to resolving recurring disputes between operators and government agencies over sector debt obligations, noting that the outstanding liabilities were already public knowledge.

“After all, our debt is not a secret; that the Federal Government is owing us is not a secret. It is public. So, publish whom you have paid and how much you have paid out of the N501 billion,” she added.

Ogaji also raised broader concerns about the sustainability of the government’s proposed seven-year repayment structure for the estimated N4 trillion sector debt, warning that the ongoing accumulation of monthly shortfalls could worsen the liquidity crisis.

According to her, even if the repayment plan is implemented as proposed, it does not address the underlying structural inefficiencies driving fresh debt in the sector.

She warned that continued accumulation of debt without structural correction could deepen instability in the electricity market.

Further alleging that some GenCos received only partial payments under the intervention fund, she explained: “There is a particular GenCo that they are supposed to pay N22 billion, but they paid it only N4.1 billion.”