Nnaji denies wrongdoing, thanks Jonathan, Nigerians

Ex-Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, on Wednesday absolved himself of wrongdoing, 24 hours after he resigned from the position in controversial circumstances.
In a statement issued in Abuja by his media aide, Mr. Ogbuagu Anikwe, the former minister denied reports that he was forced to resign as a result of conflict of interest in the privatisation process.


He said that before he accepted to serve in government, he resigned from all the companies where he had interest and placed his shares in a blind trust.
“I would like to reiterate that before I accepted to serve as minister, I resigned my directorship of all companies that I had interest in and put my shares in those companies in a Blind Trust; this means that I was not privy to the day-to-day business decisions of those who ran this Trust.
“In addition, I publicly declared the participation in the privatization process of a foreign company that did business with a company that I had interest in. This fact came to my knowledge only during the course of evaluating the consortia that were bidding for PHCN successor companies.
“Consequently, I also voluntarily recused myself from participating in the selection process. These actions, I should think, are in line with the finest traditions of transparency and accountability in governance,” he said.
Nnaji thanked President Goodluck Jonathan and Nigerians for giving him the opportunity to serve the country as a special adviser and a minister for two terms.
“I feel particularly proud of the fact that my exit comes at a time that the administration has been able to generate and supply an unprecedented quantum of steady, reliable electric power in the history of our nation,” he said in the statement.
“I am confident enough to allow history and the Nigerian people to judge my performance on the task that I accepted from the President,” he said.
Nnaji also said he resigned to prevent a “spillover” of attacks against his person to Jonathan.
He said he would no proceed to fully develop his power projects, as part of his contribution to national development.
He also thanked staff of the ministry, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and other agencies for their dedication to duty.