Nigeria has approved a phased plan to refinance 4 trillion naira ($2.61 billion) in electricity sector debt to stabilise the country's struggling power industry and improve supply, Finance Minister Olawale Edun announced Thursday. The debt, owed mainly to 27 power generation companies for unpaid invoices between 2015 and 2023, has limited investment and worsened chronic outages in Africa's most populous nation. President Bola Tinubu, following a recent verification of claims, approved the plan on Wednesday. Edun said the refinancing would be implemented within three to four weeks under the oversight of the Debt Management Office. It is expected to involve bond issuances and other instruments to spread repayments over time. The move forms part of broader sector reforms, including a 35 per cent cut in electricity subsidies and tariff increases for urban consumers, measures projected to save the government about 1.1 trillion naira ($718.58 million) annually. Attribution: Reuters Subediting: Y.Yasser
