On Barth Nnaji's Resignation

I think the issue boils down to poor judgment on the part of Barth. Since the days of TCPC, there exists a Code of Ethics prohibiting members of the Board of TCPC and staff from acquiring assets being privatized.

In 2000, the National Council on Privatization approved stricter Code of Ethics prohibiting staff of BPE and members of NCP from participating in any way in privatization transaction. As DG of BPE between 1999 and 2003, I went further and stopped buying any shares on the NSE to prevent any signalling to the market.

Barth Nnaji ought to be aware of this, and withdrew his firm or its associates from further participation in any consortium participating as consultants or bidders to any privatization transaction, electricity related or not, the moment he was appointed minister of power, and therefore a co-opted member of the NCP. Perhaps he was unaware of this Code which BPE as the secretariat of NCP is obliged to draw attention to for the guidance of all council members.

His resignation is a set-back for the power sector reforms. He is one of the few ministers in GEJ's cabinet that knows what need doing in his area of ministerial responsbility. The whole thing was clearly avoidable.

There are many ministers far less competent than Barth and under whose watch massive fraud, corruption and more serious crimes have been committed. Yet, they continue to sit pretty and not asked to resign.

Perhaps, there is more than this ethical infraction. I do not know, but if what we read is all there is, both the ex-minister and his employer could have handled it better and in a more orderly manner.

Nasir

hercules07: Waiting for the El-Rufai haters to come out, he is praising both GEJ and Barth Nnaji here. I do not believe the PHCN should be privatised, I think the sector should be deregulated, what worked in the telecomms sector was deregulation not privatization.

Nnaji said he had met with the president Tuesday afternoon, during which he (president) informed him (Nnaji) that he was using his company as a proxy to buy shares on behalf of the president in Afam power station through the privatisation process.

walton1: When el-rufai was the DG of the bureau of public enterprise he used his position to buy government properties where he under valued them and sold them to himself.

binger: This is the best/only good comment the mallam(cattle rearer) has made on national issues ever since GEJ came into power

sojjy: El-rufai argues fine,no sentiment,no bias.Mallam is a man I would love to see occupying the post of president in Nigeria.He's a true Nigerian that really want the best for his dearest country.

ndu_chucks: Mallam El-Rufai, missed the involvement of Mr. President in this scandal, like most people. He missed the following, buried in published reports:

The red text above must be the real reason why Nnaji left his position abruptly. The President himself was going to benefit from the deal because Nnaji's company was buying shares for the President. When that fact was exposed, Nnaji had to be sacrifised, if not GEJ himself would have been in big soup.

Bunch of Barawos. These people act as if there are no real people behind blind trusts, thieves hiding behind proxies.

ndu_chucks: Mallam El-Rufai, missed the involvement of Mr. President in this scandal, like most people. He missed the following, buried in published reports:



The red text above must be the real reason why Nnaji left his position abruptly. The President himself was going to benefit from the deal because Nnaji's company was buying shares for the President. When that fact was exposed, Nnaji had to be sacrifised, if not GEJ himself would have been in big soup.

Bunch of Barawos. These people act as if there are no real people behind blind trusts, thieves hiding behind proxies.

binger: This is the best/only good comment the mallam(cattle rearer) has made on national issues ever since GEJ came into power

sojjy: El-rufai argues fine,no sentiment,no bias.Mallam is a man I would love to see occupying the post of president in Nigeria.He's a true Nigerian that really want the best for his dearest country.

binger: This is the best/only good comment the mallam(cattle rearer) has made on national issues ever since GEJ came into power