By Odo Ijere

The commissioning yesterday of the Aba Independent Power Plant project designed and built by Professor Barthlomew Nnaji’s Geometric Power Ltd over a 20 years period was indeed a shining armor spotted in a thick cloud. It started as a developing story that was too difficult to imagine to be true. A fairy tale sort of stuff of the Cinderella fame. But turning out to be true that at last, something good came out of the tribe of Benjamin.

Thus, Aba, the Enyimba City, the pearl of the Eastern States, the elephant of the Igbo miracle, the engine room of the Igbo manufacturing wizardry, and the hope of the Igbo economic resurgence came once again under the world spotlight for a spectacular demonstration of the Igbo can do spirit. Geometric Power will indeed generate and distribute about 180 megawatts of electricity from its Osisioma location to ignite the industrial and manufacturing energy of a people so blessed with the spirit of hardwork, handwork, skill, innovation and technology.

But behind this marvelous feat were a pandorra box of betrayals, subterfuge, wickedness, Igbo self hate, double crossing, pillaging, sabotage, bribery etcetera that went on for the 20 years that it took to complete the project. Infact, Professor Bart Nnaji saw red in the hands of Nigerians especially of his fellow Igbo kinsmen and the infamous Nigeria factor that stood on his way all through the journey.

But expectedly, success has many fathers, parents and grandparents which is why many of those that pitched their tent against Professor Nnaji and his vision are now loudmouthing for credit and recognition. They all want to be identified with the positive effects of good thinking and public good. Most of these never do well politicians are taking a swipe on Bart Nnaji for not recognizing their efforts during his pre commissioning news conference. So a man as sound and eclectic as Professor Bartlomew Nnaji, a world renowned professor of robotics and manufacturing engineering cannot decipher who actually supported the project on his hands that lasted for 20 years?. It sounds pathetic that some failed politicians are trying to burnish their tattered images by hustling to be honored with the Aba Independent Power Plant project and its vision.

Of particular mention is the shameless guts of Okezie Ikpeazu and his media aides who are now claiming that Professor Nnaji and Geometric Power were paid $5 Million USD for purchase of 5% share capital for Abia State. So if they indeed made such investment for the state, why was it a secret and only coming out now after Nnaji mouthed that no kobo was received from any individual or group as investment sums. Who’s really deceiving who?. This unwholesome claim by Ikpeazu and his cronies calls for probe by the EFCC or other security agencies. Let Ikpeazu or his aide, one JOK that made the claim be invited to come and tell us where the N1.4 Billion they displayed in their spreadsheet as proof of payment was remitted to since Professor Nnaji and Geometric have disclaimed ever receiving such sum.

Again according to John Okiyi, aka JOK testament, Okezie Ikpeazu came into the picture in 2015 to meet Professor Bart Nnaji struggling with Chief Emeka Offor over jurisdiction rights to ring fence Aba and environ for the AIPP project when the plant had already been built and only awaiting gas supply to feedstock the furnaces but he failed to fix the problem for 8 years as governor until Dr. Alex Otti came and took only 8 months to fix the same problem. So Bart Nnaji or Abia people will now be clapping for Ikpeazu for doing what exactly? You guys are full of disdain really.

Information in the public domain shows that as at 2015, a whopping sum of $500 Million had already been staked to finance the project and yet Ikpeazu and his cohorts didn’t see the need to invoke all government fiat to settle all extant issues involved to deliver on the project. Ikpeazu was too busy carting away our monthly allocations to remember Dr. Paul Wolfowitz of the World Bank and our platinum Amazon, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who both went out of their ways to put up such huge finances to put Aba, the Enyimba City on the world map power infrastructure development. Enough of this Ikpeazu distractions biko nu. The man is synonymous with failure.

Another side of this brewing saga worth mentioning is the inglorious role attached to Chief, Sir, Emeka Offor, the Chief Executive of Chrome Oil and EEDC. Emeka Offor i must say is busy distributing darkness and disempowering our people across Alaigbo in the name of EEDC Disco. Emeka Offor ever since emerging the preferred bidder to manage the Eastern Electric Distribution Company in a highly corrupted bidding rounds that was more or less a political settlement for the big boys to take over our power sector have shown inordinately that he has nothing to offer to improve the power sector in the Southeast.

EEDC instead of giving light is giving darkness. They have zero capacity to manage the Eastern Distribution Network. They are not investing in metering, new equipment, new transformers, cables etcetera. Virtually all infrastructure inherited since privatization are expired but without replacement. Many areas across the Southeast states under their coverage are permanently disabled from having light from their grid. Most parts of Abia North for instance are permanently disabled due to moribund infrastructure and can’t receive power transmission from EEDC.

When an investor wants to generate power and distribute to consumers, EEDC will come up with all manner of bills to frustrate the person. Professor Bart Nnaji suffered the same faith in their hands following which they stalled the AIPP project in Aba until the former Vice President, Professor Osinbajo had to intervene, beg and plead with Emeka Offor to help his own people to see the light of the day. That is Emeka Offor, our acclaimed public philanthropist and deliverer of Igbo race.

Out of the 20 years it took to deliver this AIPP power project in Aba, 10 of it was wasted trying to deal with Emeka Offor’s recalcitrance. He continued to blackmail the project until he was eventually settled with huge sums of US dollars. But today he’s one of those looking to be recognized as a Moses that helped deliver his people out of bondage. This is a man who’s only business in the power sector is to be receiving power subsidy money from the Federal Government for distributing darkness.

We are hoping that the drafters of the New legislation in Abia State to domesticate the practice of electric power generation, transmission and distribution will effectively exit EEDC from the 8 remaining local governments not covered by Geometric Power project. We need the new legislation to take care of ring fencing the rest of the remaining 8 local governments so that some other new investors may take up the business to generate, transmit and distribute power more competitively to our people.

As for the Geometric miracle of 24/7 light that was launched yesterday the 25th of February, 2024, we deservedly congratulate Governor Alex Otti for making it a priority to deliver the completed Aba power within his short stay in office. We also heartily congratulate Professor Bartholomew Nnaji for his doggedness, steadfastness and patience to see to it that his Aba power project dream saw the light of the day..