A fresh approval of N3.3 trillion to address longstanding issues in Nigeria’s power sector has sparked fresh reactions, with former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and other Nigerians questioning what appears to be a pattern of repeated announcements without clear results.
The latest development was disclosed in a statement shared on April 5, 2026, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu.
According to the statement, the approval is part of a payment plan under the Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme aimed at clearing legacy debts accumulated between 2015 and 2025.
The Federal Government said N3.3 trillion had been agreed upon as a full and final settlement, with about N2.3 trillion already tied to agreements signed by 15 power generation companies.
It said that N501 billion had been raised so far, with N223 billion already disbursed, expressing optimism that the intervention would stabilise electricity generation and improve supply across the country.
“This programme is not just about settling legacy debts, it is about restoring confidence across the power sector,” Olu Arowolo Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, said.
However, reacting to the development in a statement shared on his official page, Obi questioned the repeated approvals, recalling that a similar N3.3 trillion was approved in May 2024, alongside a N4 trillion bond in July 2024, all targeted at the same power sector debts.
“This raises a fundamental question: were the previous approvals mere announcements without execution?” he asked.
Obi further expressed concern over accountability in the management of public funds, noting that despite multiple interventions, electricity supply has not significantly improved.
He also raised questions about the source of funding for the new approval and whether borrowing would again be used to settle existing inefficiencies.
“Key questions remain unanswered: How did the debt accrue? What is the actual total debt in the power sector? Why have previous approvals not translated into tangible improvements?” he added.
The former presidential candidate stressed that Nigeria must move beyond repeated announcements and focus on transparency and measurable reforms in the power sector.
The development has also triggered reactions among Nigerians on social media, with many expressing frustration over what they described as a cycle of repeated promises.
An X user, Dino said, “Approvals without execution are just numbers on paper. Nigerians deserve results, not repeated promises.”
Another commenter, Ojukwu Di Ndu, noted that similar figures had been approved in previous years without noticeable improvement in power supply.
“The ₦3.3 trillion approval announced yesterday is the same figure approved in May 2024… yet supply has not improved meaningfully,” he said.
However, not all reactions were aligned, as another user, Alubarika, criticised Obi’s remarks, dismissing his position on the issue.
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