Nigeria - Influential Power Minister Barth Nnaji Resigns

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji on Tuesday resigned his appointment from the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

There was no immediate detail about the reasons for the resignation which is with immediate effect.

President Jonathan, according to his media aide, Dr.  Reuben Abati, had accepted the resignation.

The president in a statement issued by Abati to State House Correspondents thanked Prof. Nnaji for his services to the nation under the present administration and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Dr. Bart Nnaji, 51, holds a Doctorate in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States. He is also a tenured professor of Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, also in the United States.

In 2003, Nnaji began traveling back and forth to Nigeria to build a world-class, indigenous power company. He is currently Chairman and CEO of the company, Geometric Power Limited, or GPL, a US$250 million, 140 MW, integrated generation and distribution power plant.

Nnaji built upon his previous experience in Nigeria’s power sector to create his company. In 1993, he served as Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Science and Technology. In 2000, along with his joint venture partner Renatech International Limited, Nnaji built and managed a successful 15MW emergency power station in Abuja.

Nnaji ran in the 2007 Nigerian presidential election as the candidate for the Better Nigeria Party.