Elumelu meets Tinubu, canvases for payment of electricity debt to ease power outages

…Hails reforms in FX, MSME fundings

Tony Elumelu, the chairman of Heirs Holdings, on Friday applauded the ongoing economic reforms, by President Bola Tinubu, which he said, helped to strengthen the economy, but called on the federal government to address the huge debts owed service providers in the electricity sector to boost power supply.

Elumelu stressed that improving electricity supply remains central to Nigeria’s economic development.

Elumelu stated this, while speaking with State House journalists after meeting the President at the State House, Abuja, where he reviewed the state of the economy and commended the direction of monetary policy, amongst others

He however, expressed confidence about President Tinubu’s committments to fast-tracking the payment of outstanding debts owed to power generation companies.

“Mr. President realises this, embraces it, and is committed to doing more, especially helping to fast-track the payment of the power sector debt so that the power generators can do more for the country,” he said.

Elumelu said settling the debts would help boost generation and expand access to electricity, which he described as critical for productivity and growth.

Elumelu stated that he is impressed by President Tinubu’s commitment to stabilising the economy, supporting young entrepreneurs, and strengthening the power sector to drive sustainable development.

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He disclosed that Nigeria has recorded major progress, especially with the foreign exchange market reforms, noting that the reforms has ensured “stability and predictability under the current regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to him, the reforms have changed the nature of business concerns in the financial system, as access to foreign exchange is no longer the dominant issue it once was.

“I told someone, I said there was a time before if I got 10 calls on banking issues, seven of those calls was about how to access foreign exchange. Today, if you get 10 calls on banking issues, not even one is on FX, that market is totally sorted,” he said.

Elumelu described the current atmosphere as encouraging, saying the most important factor for investors and entrepreneurs is the ability to predict the direction of economic policy and market conditions.

“If you see what the Central Bank Governor and his team are doing, it’s quite encouraging; we’ve had some predictability and stability,” he said.

He added that the President deserved credit for creating the enabling space for the CBN leadership to implement reforms that are strengthening confidence in the economy.

To complement the FX gains, Elumelu said he also discussed with Tinubu the need to further empower small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), which he described as the engine of growth.

He said the President was “very passionate” about supporting entrepreneurs, and spoke about how tax reforms and development finance could be used to deepen opportunities for small businesses.

Elumelu said Tinubu also expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Bank of Industry (BOI), adding that the President wants the institution to expand its support for SMEs nationwide.