Nigeria Courts Investors for Second Power Bond Issuance After ₦63.5bn Coupon Payment

The Federal Government has begun courting investors for the second series of its power-sector bond programme after paying a ₦63.5 billion coupon on the first issuance, as it seeks to clear more legacy debts and restore liquidity across Nigeria’s electricity industry.

Olu Arowolo Verheijen, special adviser to the President on oil and gas, told an investor forum on Tuesday that the Series I coupon was paid in full and on schedule on July 14, demonstrating the government’s commitment to honouring its financial obligations.

“Markets do not reward promises. They reward performance,” Verheijen said in remarks prepared for the Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme Series II bond forum. “Series I proved the model. Series II scales it.”

The government deployed about ₦501 billion under Series I in February 2026, comprising ₦300 billion in cash and roughly ₦201 billion in non-cash bond instruments. The intervention addressed approximately 22 per cent of settlement obligations covered by executed agreements, with the balance expected to be handled through Series II and subsequent issuances.

So far, ₦333.12 billion has been settled with eight participating electricity-generation companies covering 17 power plants that signed participation agreements, according to Verheijen.

The new issuance is intended to extend the settlement of verified legacy obligations and inject more liquidity into the electricity value chain. The government expects this to strengthen sector cash flows, improve payment discipline and attract long-term private investment.

Nigeria’s power industry has long struggled with inadequate liquidity and accumulated debts, limiting the ability of generation companies to pay gas suppliers, service loans and maintain their plants.

Verheijen said payments under the reform programme were already allowing participating power producers to meet obligations to gas suppliers, lenders, and operations and maintenance contractors that had previously gone unpaid.

“In sovereign finance, trust compounds just as powerfully as interest,” she said. “Governments that expect private capital to invest must first demonstrate that their own commitments will be honoured.”

The bond programme forms part of President Bola Tinubu’s effort to address what the administration describes as longstanding fiscal dysfunction in the electricity market. It aims to convert accumulated government liabilities into structured financial instruments while improving confidence among investors and power-sector operators.

Verheijen urged financial institutions and other prospective investors to view Series II as more than a securities purchase, describing it as an investment in a broader programme to restore payment discipline, crowd in private capital and support economic growth.

She said stronger liquidity across the sector could make electricity more reliable and affordable, reducing dependence on diesel by small businesses and improving the competitiveness of manufacturers.

The programme involves the ministries of Finance and Power, the Debt Management Office, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Budget Office of the Federation and Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. Transaction advisers include Africa Finance Corporation, CardinalStone Partners, ENR Resources Limited and Olaniwun Ajayi LP.

Details of the size, pricing and timetable for the Series II issuance were not provided in the remarks.