PBA ReporterThe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) panel for screening governorship aspirants in Enugu State on Thursday cleared former Power Minister, Prof. Bart Nnaji.
Nnaji who apparently prepared for a thorough interview was surprised as the seven-member panel headed by Prof Yusuf Dankofa, from Kaduna State, simply asked him to take a bow and go, indicating that the gesture was in recognition of his “immense contributions to national development over the years.”
“People like you are needed in the public to move this country forward,” Dankofa added.
Nnaji who is the Chief Executive Officer of Geometric Power, a private indigenous energy solution provider, joined the Enugu governorship race for the 2023 election under the PDP few weeks ago.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIt would be recalled that a group known as the New Enugu Coalition for Good Governance, had presented to the ex-minister the PDP governorship nomination and expression of interest forms, urging him to take up the challenge and contest to deliver quality leadership in the state, given his track record both in private and public life.
READ ALSO: Former Minister Of Power, Bart Nnaji, Joins Enugu Guber Race
In a chat with journalists at the PDP Enugu State headquarters after his screening Nnaji revealed that if elected as governor of the state, his priority would be to create an industrial hub to provide economic opportunities for people.
He said, “Serious investors will be attracted to participate in the power sector, for instance, utilizing, among other things, the immense natural gas in places like Ugwuoba in Oji River Local Government Area.
“Much of the agitation in the South East and other parts of the country is fuelled by the lack of employment and business opportunities.”
“We must tackle the hydra-headed monster of a lack of opportunities for young people head -on, otherwise there will be a bleak future for all of us,” Nnaji promised.
Nnaji was Minister of Power under President Goodluck Jonathan from 2011 to 2012 when he resigned. As a technocrat, he was, however, credited with taking practical steps that brought significant changes in Nigeria’s power sector, raising electricity output from less than 3000 megawatts to over 5000 megawatts.
His company, Geometric Power in February this year, reacquired the Aba Integrated Power Project, a $500 million asset with installed capacity of 141 megawatts, having embedded generation and distribution infrastructure for efficient power supply.
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