Peter Obi’s comment on N3.3trn GenCos debt, a study in ignorance – TMSG

The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has said that the comments of the former Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi on President Bola Tinubu’s N3.3 trillion debt settlement programme to electricity power-generating companies (GenCos) appears to be misguided.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, the group wondered how a former Governor would not know the difference between debts owed to Generation Companies (Gencos) and Distribution Companies (DisCos).

“We are stunned beyond belief that former Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi claimed that a substantial portion of the 3.3 trillion debt that the FG has recently made a repayment plan for was owed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the Presidential villa.

“This is a preposterous claim that no one who has ever held public office at that level should be seen or heard making.

“How could he not know that the debt is for the supply of gas to Power Generating Companies (Gencos) and not power distribution companies (Discos) which individuals and government agencies deal with in the power value chain?

“This once again shows Peter Obi’s poor understanding of issues in the polity before jumping in to be seen as knowledgeable.”

The group also picked holes in Obi’s position on the legacy debt and what the Presidency is setting out to do.

“We also found it laughable that Obi did not know that the debt owed to GENCOs predates the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari and the current one.

“What he clearly does not know is that a chunk of the debt had been pending before former President Buhari assumed office but because government is a continuum the Bola Tinubu administration is only interested in clearing the debt obligation to remove one of the impediments to electricity power generation in the country.

“As for his suggestion that the same announcement was made in 2024, we dare to say that these are different things.

“While the Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu indeed disclosed, back then, that the Presidency had approved payment of N3.3 trillion to the Gencos, the latest announcement speaks to an approved payment plan after reconciliation had been concluded and eight of Nigeria’s largest power generation companies operating 15 power plants had accepted the federal government’s plan to clear unpaid obligations that had slowed down investment in the sector.

“We acknowledge that Obi has to play politics to whet the appetite of his followers, but it beggars belief that an individual aspiring to the highest office in the land has what appears to be a shallow understanding of too many issues,” it noted.