Professor Bartholomew Nnaji resigns from his position as Nigeria Minister of Power

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati in a short press statement issued on Tuesday said “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has accepted the resignation with immediate effect of the Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji.

“President Jonathan thanks Prof. Nnaji for his services to the nation under the present administration and wishes him well in his future endeavours.”

Details of the circumstances surrounding the resignation of the Ministers were not available as at the time of publishing this report.

Since his appointment as the Minister of Power, Prof Nnaji, a graduate of physics at St John’s University had canvassed for major reforms in the Nigeria comatose power sector.

As part of his reforms programme, the Minister has embarked on a scheme to privatise Nigeria’s power generation plants as well as the country’s transmission company. This move have pitched Prof Nnaji against the electricity workers, who felt threatened that the private companies would sack them if they assume management of privatised companies.

Prof Nnaji is the director and a founder of the Automation and Robotics Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was made a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in 1992.

He is also the founder of the first indigenous owned power generating company in Nigeria and was also a former minister for Science and Technology in the country.

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