House of Representatives Orders 11 DisCos to Refund N55.4 Billion Metering Loan by November

The House of Representatives sets a November deadline for 11 DisCos to refund N55.4 billion in CBN loans following a probe into the National Mass Metering Programme.

By: AXL Media

Published: May 1, 2026, 11:07 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Nation Newspaper

Legislative Mandate for Immediate Loan Recovery

The House of Representatives has established a November deadline for all 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to refund a collective N55.424 billion loan. This capital was originally disbursed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), an initiative designed to eliminate estimated billing and close the country’s significant metering gap. The decision follows a comprehensive investigation by a joint committee, which concluded that the repayment timeline must be accelerated due to the high revenue currently being generated by the funded infrastructure.

Failures in Oversight and Evaluation

Uchenna Okonkwo, Chairman of the investigating committee, highlighted significant administrative lapses in the execution of the 2020 program. The committee’s report found that the CBN failed to conduct necessary evaluations or maintain reports on how much revenue the funded meters were generating through consumer vending. Without this data, the committee argued that the original 10 year payback period was arbitrary and unjustified. Legislative findings suggest that the apex bank’s lack of monitoring allowed the funds to remain with the DisCos longer than necessary, despite the immediate profitability of the equipment.

Discrepancy Between Loan Amounts and Revenue

A primary factor driving the November deadline is the massive revenue reported by certain DisCos relative to their borrowing. The investigation revealed that some companies received approximately N4.6 billion in loans but generated up to N28 billion in revenue over a three year period. This substantial return on investment led the committee to conclude that the DisCos have the financial capacity to settle the debt well before the 2030 target. The House argued that keeping these public funds in private hands for an additional four years would be fiscally irresponsible given the current collection rates.