We’re Not Robbers, We Need Help” – GenCos Slam NLC Over Extortion Claim

Electricity generation companies in Nigeria have strongly rejected allegations of extortion, robbery and deception levelled against them by the Nigerian Labour Congress, describing the claims as unfounded and misleading.

According to Ireporter Online, the companies, speaking under the auspices of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), maintained that they are currently owed more than ₦6 trillion and remain the most financially exposed stakeholders within the country’s electricity value chain. The association stressed that although GenCos are entitled to about 60 per cent of market receivables from invoiced energy, they continue to shoulder significant operational and financial risks in sustaining power generation nationwide.

The group insisted that rather than being vilified, generation companies deserve understanding given the enormous challenges confronting the sector. It warned that portraying GenCos as unregulated actors capable of arbitrary conduct creates a false narrative and misinforms the public about the structure and oversight within the power industry.

Chief Executive Officer of APGC, Joy Ogaji, described the NLC’s accusations as baseless and offensive to professionals striving to keep the nation’s power plants running. She argued that such allegations undermine critical liquidity support mechanisms designed to stabilise electricity supply across the country.

Ogaji further challenged critics to properly identify individuals allegedly engaged in wrongdoing, insisting that generation companies, which operate under difficult financial conditions, cannot reasonably be labelled as perpetrators of extortion or deception. She reaffirmed that GenCos continue to work tirelessly to ensure consistent electricity output despite mounting debts and structural constraints.

The association also dismissed suggestions that government interventions in the power sector are politically motivated or intended to serve narrow interests ahead of elections. It maintained that such insinuations distort public understanding and erode confidence in efforts aimed at strengthening and stabilising Nigeria’s electricity market.

APGC reiterated that more than a decade after privatisation, the power sector remains burdened by severe liquidity challenges, a situation it says is widely acknowledged but often misrepresented in public discourse.