Every successful capital market tells the same story: investors return where governments keep their promises. Today’s forum is about exactly that.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has demonstrated beyond doubt its commitment to making a clean break from the fiscal dysfunction that once defined Nigeria’s power sector. Through bold policy decisions and disciplined execution, we are converting an unsustainable liability into a bankable, well-governed investment opportunity that the market can trust.
We are converting yesterday’s liabilities into today’s liquidity and tomorrow’s investment capacity.
That liquidity, if sustained, will strengthen the entire electricity value chain, improve operational performance, and restore confidence across the sector. That is precisely what the Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme was established to achieve under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Markets do not reward promises. They reward performance. That is why we deliberately chose execution before expansion.
Series I delivered on its promise. In February 2026, the Federal Government deployed approximately ₦501 billion, N300 billion in cash and roughly ₦201 billion through non-cash bond instruments, addressing approximately 22 percent of the settlement obligations under executed Settlement Agreements, with the balance to be covered through Series II and subsequent issuances.
To date, ₦333.12 billion has been settled to the eight participating generation companies, covering seventeen power plants that have executed participation agreements.
We met our obligation on schedule. The first Series I coupon about ₦63.5 billion was paid in full on 14 July 2026.
In sovereign finance, trust compounds just as powerfully as interest. Governments that expect private capital to invest must first demonstrate that their own commitments will be honoured. That is exactly what this Programme has done.
Bankability does not begin in financial markets. It begins with governments that honour contracts, meet obligations, and create predictable rules. Capital follows credibility. That principle has guided every stage of this Programme.
That credibility is already translating into tangible improvements across the sector. Participating generation companies are meeting obligations to gas suppliers, lenders and operations and maintenance contractors that had previously gone unmet. Strong investor participation in Series I was therefore no coincidence. It reflected growing confidence in both this Programme and Nigeria’s broader reform agenda. We are grateful to every institution that placed that confidence in us.
Series I proved the model. Series II scales it.
This issuance extends the settlement of verified legacy obligations, deepens liquidity throughout the electricity value chain, and further strengthens the financial foundations needed to attract long-term private investment into Nigeria’s power sector.
By participating, you are not simply purchasing a financial instrument. You are investing in a reform programme designed to restore payment discipline, strengthen sector cash flows, crowd in private capital, and accelerate Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Ultimately, however, this Programme is not only about balance sheets or capital markets.
It is about the student who gains another hour to study because electricity is reliable. It is about the small business owner who no longer depends on expensive diesel to remain open. It is about the manufacturers whose competitiveness improves because power becomes more dependable and affordable.
That is why this Programme is far more than a financial transaction. It is a development mandate.
Today’s Investor Forum is an opportunity to hear directly from the team that designed and implemented this Programme, to understand the structure of the Series II issuance, and to engage openly on both the opportunities and the safeguards embedded within it. We welcome your questions and look forward to a constructive discussion.
Before I conclude, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Power, the Debt Management Office, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, the Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme Committee, and our award winning advisers, Africa Finance Corporation, CardinalStone Partners, ENR Resources Limited, and Olaniwun Ajayi LP, together with the issuing houses, trustees, registrars and every institution whose professionalism has brought us to this important milestone.
Nigeria’s power sector is changing. The reforms are real. The commitments are being honoured. The opportunity is significant.
We thank you for your continued confidence in Nigeria and in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda. We look forward to building this future together.
