Renowned businessman and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, has issued a powerful and urgent appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, calling for swift government intervention to rescue Nigeria’s ailing power generation sector.
Elumelu made the emotional plea during a high-level meeting between members of the Association of Power Generation Companies and President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The delegation was led by retired Colonel Sani Bello, with Elumelu speaking on behalf of key investors and operators in Nigeria’s electricity generation industry.
In his remarks, Elumelu didn’t hold back, warning of an imminent collapse if the government fails to act.
“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 stated.
The Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Transcorp Power, Elumelu emphasized that the crisis is not due to mismanagement by operators but systemic financial challenges.
He warned that Nigeria’s electricity future is at stake, and the inability to resolve debts owed to GenCos could drive away investors and crush current infrastructure.
Despite the grim warning, Elumelu applauded the Tinubu administration for key economic improvements, especially in the oil and banking sectors. He noted that prior to Tinubu’s emergence as President in 2023, the country suffered massive oil losses.
“Before you took office, we lost 97% of our daily oil production. Today, we are retaining 98%. That’s transformation. Investors are seeing greater stability and predictability,” he said.
However, he stressed that the gains in oil and finance would be incomplete without fixing the power sector.
“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.”, Tony Elumelu added
The passionate appeal signals growing concerns among investors and energy stakeholders about the financial sustainability of Nigeria’s power industry.
WATCH HIM SPEAK IN CLIP BELOW
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