Nnaji Denies Involvement in Partisan Politics, Restates Commitment to Constant Power Supply

Ejiofor Alike

A former Minister of Power and Chairman of Geometric Power, Professor Bart Nnaji, has described a report of his purported involvement in
partisan politics as baseless, stressing that he is not a registered member of any political party.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Senior Manager, Brand Media Communications, Aba Power, Edise Ekong, the two-time Minister of Science and Technology expressed surprise that
that a politician claimed in a report that the federal government had been coercing him to work with the five South-east state governments to provide electricity to them.

Geometric Power provides electricity to nine local government areas (LGAs) in the Aba ring-fenced area of Abia State.

In the statement, Nnaji denied being coerced by the federal government and any affiliation with any political party in Nigeria.

“Professor Nnaji does not belong to any political party, let alone registering for anyone online. He has no plans of registering with any political party having served Nigeria at the federal level twice as Minister of Science and Technology and later as Minister of Power and under different administrations,” the statement said.

Nnaji insisted that his “interest in helping different parts of the country, including his geopolitical zone of the South-east, to get constant, quality, and affordable electricity is well established”.

“Nnaji does not require the federal government to coerce him to work for the development of basic infrastructure in the South-east or any other geopolitical zone nor does he require to register with any political party whatsoever to achieve that vision,” the statement explained.

According to the statement, the former minister is proud that Aba Power now supplies electricity to Etche LGA in the Rivers State, and would continue to provide Nigerians with affordable power wherever possible.

“In 2013, his Geometric Power formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with the five Southeast state governments as well as leading Southeast entrepreneurs known as the Eastern Electric Company to bid for the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company during the privatization of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) assets. “Although that effort was scuttled, Professor Nnaji was not deterred and has continued to power partner with like-minded investors in developing and building power projects in Nigeria,” the statement said.

“It is inappropriate for any medium, whether traditional or online, to publish reports of so-called Prof Nnaji’s involvement in partisan politics without endeavoring to speak to him or any of his associates, despite his well-known open-door policy. This door remains open to journalists who want to publish fair, accurate, and balanced reports,” the statement added.