Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has described the latest revelations by the Association of Power Generation Companies, APGC, as the final collapse of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku noted the startling disclosure by the executive secretary of the APGC, Dr Joy Ogaji, that the much-publicised N501 billion bond has not even been fully disbursed, despite repeated government claims to the contrary.
Atiku said this development raises grave questions about transparency, fiscal discipline and the credibility of Tinubu’s administration’s economic management.
Even more damning is her challenge to the federal government to publish the complete list of beneficiaries, the amounts paid to each generation company and the dates of such payments if indeed the money has been released.
Ogaji’s vivid description of the government’s token payment as “like rubbing oil on a crying child’s mouth to imply that he had eaten” perfectly captures the Tinubu administration’s approach to governance: grand announcements, impressive figures, glossy headlines, and very little substance.
“For months, Nigerians have been inundated with announcements of bond after bond supposedly floated to clear power sector debts. First came the promise of a N590 billion intervention. Then came the N501 billion bond, celebrated as a major breakthrough. Before long, the country was told about a multi-trillion-naira settlement programme. Today, another debt package is being contemplated while the very companies the government claims to have settled insist that the liabilities have continued to grow.
“This is no longer a policy failure. It is a crisis of credibility.
“The question is no longer whether the government is borrowing. The question is why Nigerians are repeatedly being asked to applaud fresh borrowing to solve a problem that the government insists it solved only yesterday.
“If the earlier interventions worked, why is another intervention necessary?
“If the debts were substantially cleared, why are the creditors saying otherwise?
“If the government has faithfully discharged its obligations, why has the Association of Power Generation Companies publicly challenged the minister’s claims and demanded documentary evidence?
“These are not opposition questions. They are industry questions. They deserve government answers,” Atiku stated.
He demanded that the federal government should immediately accept GenCo’s challenge and publish the names of every generation company that received payment.
“Public money cannot disappear into official press statements. Every naira borrowed in the name of Nigerians must be traceable to its destination.
“Sadly, this administration appears to believe that governance is an endless exercise in announcements. Every challenge is met with another ceremony. Every crisis is greeted with another headline. Every unresolved debt is answered with another borrowing plan. Yet electricity generation remains constrained, investors remain uncertain, businesses continue to spend fortunes powering themselves, and ordinary Nigerians still pay exorbitantly for darkness.
“A government that constantly changes the figures cannot expect citizens to trust its arithmetic. A government that celebrates disbursements which beneficiaries dispute cannot expect investors to trust its assurances. A government that asks future generations to repay debts incurred Today has a moral obligation to account for every kobo borrowed.
“The Tinubu administration must stop moving the goalposts.
“It cannot continue to ask Nigerians to celebrate fresh debt while refusing to provide a transparent account of previous interventions. Governance is not measured by the size of bond issuances but by measurable outcomes. The objective is not to float more bonds; it is to solve the problem.
“The National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation and every institution charged with safeguarding public funds must insist on a comprehensive public audit of all power sector intervention funds raised under this administration. Nigerians deserve to know precisely how much has been borrowed, how much has been disbursed, who received the money, and why the debts continue to rise despite repeated claims of settlement.
“Darkness has become one of the most expensive commodities in Nigeria. The least Nigerians deserve is the truth.
“The Tinubu administration must understand that transparency is not an act of generosity; it is a constitutional obligation. Accountability is not optional. Public trust cannot be sustained on a diet of contradictory figures, shifting narratives and endless promises.
“Nigerians are tired of official declarations that dissolve upon contact with reality. They deserve a government that accounts for yesterday’s borrowing before asking them to underwrite tomorrow’s debt.
“History will not remember how many bonds this administration floated. It will remember whether those bonds brought light to Nigerian homes or merely deepened the darkness of official opacity,” Atiku stated.
Recall the Tinubu government had approved a N501 billion bond to clear power sector debts, however, the Gencos allege that the bond has yet to be disbursed.
