Geregu Power Plc has defaulted on the eighth coupon payment and fourth bullet principal repayment of its N40.09 billion Series 1 senior unsecured bond.
Gatekeepers News reports that the development was disclosed in an updated listing status published by FMDQ Securities Exchange and seen on Sunday.
The bond, issued on July 28, 2022, has a seven-year tenor and is scheduled to mature on July 28, 2029. It carries a 14.5 per cent coupon and was issued under Geregu Power’s N100 billion multi-instrument issuance programme.
“Credit Default in the 8th coupon payment and 4th bullet principal repayment,” FMDQ said in the updated listing details.
The exchange stated that the Series 1 bond was issued as a senior, direct, irrevocable and unsubordinated obligation of Geregu Power.
“The Series 1 bond was issued as a senior, direct, irrevocable and unsubordinated obligation of Geregu Power. It ranks pari passu with the company’s other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness,” the listing details added.
Geregu Power had raised about N40 billion through the bond issuance to meet its funding requirements and finance planned expansion projects.
At the time of the issuance, Global Credit Rating (GCR) assigned the bond a national-scale long-term rating of A(Na), in line with the company’s issuer rating.
GCR said the rating reflected Geregu Power’s position as one of Nigeria’s leading power generation companies and its relatively high generation capacity, which had supported its earnings.
However, the rating agency highlighted several challenges, including illiquidity in Nigeria’s power sector, a concentrated customer base and expected pressure on the company’s leverage metrics.
GCR had also assigned the company an “Evolving” outlook, citing uncertainty surrounding its fundraising plans, execution of planned projects and the expected recovery in revenue.
The agency warned that delays in project execution could place additional pressure on Geregu Power’s leverage and increase refinancing risks.
It also identified aggressive dividend payments amid the company’s ongoing expansion plans and weaker-than-expected earnings resulting from production losses as possible triggers for a downgrade.
Earlier this year, the company’s board approved a N9 dividend payment to shareholders.
The bond default comes eight months after Femi Otedola, the company’s former chairman, sold his majority stake in Geregu Power for N1.088 trillion in December 2025.
