Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says he presented a proposal to the federal executive council (FEC) to enable the federal government to clear the N4 trillion debt owed to power generation companies.

Edun spoke on Tuesday while briefing state house correspondents after the FEC meeting, presided over by President Bola Tinubu.

Edun said during the council’s meeting, he presented a memo on refinancing outstanding obligations in the electricity industry totalling N4 trillion.

“I presented a memo on the all-important refinancing of the electricity sector’s outstanding obligations totalling N4 trillion,” the minister said.

“Though the financing plan was not fully approved immediately, we have moved into implementation, led by the Debt Management Office and other experts.”

The minister said the first phase of the process should be completed within three to four weeks, which will mark significant progress in resolving the debt.

Refinancing is when a loan is replaced with another one. This means paying off a debt with another debt obligation.In April 2025, power generation companies (GenCos) warned that the N4 trillion unpaid debt owed by the federal government and stakeholders for electricity generated threatens their operations.

A breakdown of the debt includes N2 trillion for 2024 and N1.9 trillion in legacy debts.

Earlier in May, Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, said the federal government may borrow to settle part of the N4 trillion debt owed to power generation companies (GenCos).