PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan spoke yesterday on why former Power Minister Barth Nnaji threw in the towel.
Dr. Jonathan said in Onitsha, Anambra State: “Barth Nnaji has not committed any offence. He is a very competent and seasoned professional.”
Addressing Anambra people during a town hall meeting at the Governor’s Lodge, Onitsha after inaugurating the Onitsha Inland River Port Complex and the Governor’s Lodge as well as some private sector companies, Dr Jonathan said he would replace Nnaji with another competent Igbo man.
He said because some privatisation done in the past failed , he was careful not to engage in another exercise that would be a failed venture.
Jonathan said Nnaji gave way because he had interests in the ongoing privatisation.
In Abuja, the President is believed to have launched the search for a new Minister of Power.
Some of those being speculated are a former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Agency, Dr. Ransome Owan; a former Special Adviser on Petroleum Resources, Prof. Emmanuel Edoga; a former Managing Director of the Power Holding Copany of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr. Joseph Makoju, an engineer; a former Special Adviser to the President on Power, Mr. Foluseke Shomolu, who is also an engineer.
Also yesterday, a source in government said the Federal Government had shifted ground on the disengaged PHCN workers’ demand.
The source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The reality is that Nnaji has left a big vacuum, which might be difficult to fill. The nation needs a man with the deep knowledge of the industry.
“So, we need a new Minister who can hit the ground running from his or her first day in office.
“The President has been receiving recommendations and some advice but one thing that is sure is that Nigeria is never in short of experts.
“I think within a short time, the President will get the right peg to put in the right hole.”
Responding to a question, the source said: “The President is being meticulous about the new choice because it is a technical area. This is not an appointment a government can rush to make.
“He can choose from within or outside the cabinet. What is important is the ability to provide technical and leadership direction. You will recall that the late Chief Bola Ige, ex-Governor Olusegun Agagu and Governor Liyel Imoke were at one time or the other in charge of power.
“Although most people favour fresh hands from outside, a few others are recommending active ministers, such as Nyesom Wike (Minister of State for Education); Olusegun Aganga (Trade and Investment); Mike Onolememen (Works) and Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, for the job.
“But from outside, some names being speculated are a former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Agency, Dr. Ransome Owan; a former Special Adviser on Petroleum Resources, Prof. Emmanuel Edoga; a former MD of PHCN, Joseph Makoju; a former Special Adviser to the President on Power, Foluseke Shomolu; and a hitherto UK based energy expert, Dr. David Ladipo, who was once part of a consortium called Azura Power Limited that managed some power projects in Benin Zone.
“Some people have also asked the government to look inward for technical experts who had worked on NIPP and served with Nnaji in driving the reform in the power sector.
“When Jonathan was the Vice-President, he interacted extensively with some of these technical experts. He knows who can execute the power sector reform.
“The only challenge is that he needs to take a second look at some of the ministers whether he might want to redeploy any of them to that ministry. I remember that when Nnaji took over, a serving member of the cabinet stood up and said: “I was a member of a committee that decided to suspend Power Sector Reform for three years.”
But a source in the Ministry of Power said: “I do not think that any member of Nnaji’s technical team will be able to make a big difference without bias. We are not looking in that direction.”
There were signals that the President might not retain the Power portfolio in Enugu State.
Another source in government said: “No law has made it compulsory that the Ministry of Power must go to Enugu State. It is the prerogative of the President to assign portfolios.
“Even if you are in the cabinet, it is not guaranteed that you must permanently be in a ministry.
“What is constitutionally required is that every state of the federation must have a ministerial slot. And the President has fulfilled this mandate.”
Nnaji yesterday submitted his handover note to the government.
He had spent the last 48 hours compiling the note, which a source described as “rich and voluminous”.
“He took time to write details about his activities in office in the past 14 months.”
There were indications last night that the Federal Government may have shifted ground on the disengaged PHCN workers’ demand.
A member of the negotiating team, who spoke in confidence, said: “The government has made new offers or some concessions, it is left to the labour leaders to go and consult and give government feedback.
“The negotiation on workers’ demand is a little bit intricate. With the privatisation, the workers have to disengage from PHCN. But they have a challenge on their exit package because they did not migrate to the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2004.
“The Pension Reform Act allowed only those who were going to retire between 2004 and 2007 to do so with the old Pension Scheme.
“Under the Contributory Pension Scheme, the workers will save 7.5 per cent of their earnings and their employers will also contribute 7.5 per cent.
“But the PHCN workers are insisting on getting 25 per cent pension as in the old pension scheme. They are making this demand outside the three-year window allowed by the Pension Reform Act.
“The first committee that negotiated with them offered to pay them 25 per cent of their entitlements up to 2004 and 15 per cent from 2005 to date. They have rejected this offer.
“Their rejection of the offer led to the latest negotiation which was concluded on Wednesday. The Federal Government has made a fresh offer or a middle course percentage which they have promised to look into.
“We had a wonderful session with the labour leaders. The bottom line is that the Federal Government wants to be able to pay. The cost implication of the retirement benefits of these workers is huge.”
Source: The Nation
