Barth Nnaji: How Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Inspired Aba Geometric Power Plant

Professor Bartholomew Nnaji, the mastermind behind Aba Geometric Power plant, has revealed how Nigeria’s former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, inspired him to establish Nigeria’s only integrated power project which is built to generate and distribute 188 megawatts of power.

 Nnaji, also a former minister of science and technology. Is the founder and chairman of Geometric Power Limited (GPL).

In an interview with THE WHISTLER, Prof Nnaji recounted how Okonjo-Iweala gave him the idea that led to the Aba power plant commissioned by President Bola Tinubu today, Monday.

Nnaji traced the origins of the Aba power plant to the time that late World Bank President James Wolfensohn was summoned to Aba in 2004 by  Okonjo-Iweala to come and see for himself Aba’s immense economic and technological potential.

Nnaji said, “After the visit in 2004, I was asked by the duo to consider building a 50-megawatt power plant in Abia for manufacturers, both big ones like the Star Paper Mill and small ones like the hundreds of excellent shoemakers and clothiers at the famous Ariaria Market.

“They approached me obviously because I had led a small team of dedicated Nigerian engineers and entrepreneurs to build a 22megawatt Emergency Plant in Abuja in 2001 for the supply of electricity to State House, the NNPC headquarters, the Abuja Business District, and other places.

“I acceded to the request by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala and Dr. Wolfohnson. What the two did not realize was that my enthusiastic acceptance was because the plant would be located in Aba. This city has a special place in the heart and mind of every person interested in our country’s rapid progress: It is the home of indigenous manufacturing, innovation, and entrepreneurship.”

With a license to produce 188 Megawatts (MW), Geometric Power is currently Nigeria’s only integrated power project. It differs from other electricity companies that either generate or distribute power because it has its embedded power plant, which allows it to generate and distribute power as it would.

Findings

Findings indicate that Aba Power Limited Electrical (APLE), which supplies nine (9) of the seventeen (17) local government areas (LGAs) in Abia State, is the distribution company and Geometric Power Aba Ltd. (GPAL) is the company that generates electricity in the Geometric Power Group (GP).

GPAL Distribution Areas:

These nine Local Government Areas together comprise the Aba Ring-fenced Area, where GPAL is responsible for producing and distributing power. They are Aba South, Aba North, Osisioma Ngwa, Obingwa, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East, Ukwa West, Isiala-Ngwa South, and Isiala-Ngwa North.

The Man Behind Geometric Power:

Bartholomew Nnaji, better known as Barth Nnaji, is the mastermind behind Geometric Power. He is a former minister of science and technology in Nigeria, Barth Nnaji is the founder and also the chairman of Geometric Power Limited (GPL).

Nnaji holds a doctorate in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States. He is a professor of Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He also received his dual MSc and PhD degrees in physics from St. John’s University in New York, US.

How it started

In 1993, Nnaji took the position as the federal minister of Science and Technology, in Nigeria. Following this, in 2000, he established GPL, Nigeria’s first indigenously owned power development firm. During this development, the first high-efficiency 22 MW Emergency electricity power station was introduced for Abuja in 2001 by GPL, under his leadership. The 22 MW Emergency electricity Station effectively provided continuous electricity to a specific distribution network in Abuja and the surrounding area.

The idea behind the Geometric Power Plant in Aba emerged from Nnaji’s Geometric Power Model termed  “Integrated Power Solutions Model.” This model essentially called for the establishment of power generation and distribution companies to meet the needs of commercial, residential, and industrial areas within an economic cluster.

Prof. Nnaji conceptualized the Aba Integrated Power Project to generate, run, and distribute electricity from the 140 MW gas-fired power plant to provide reliable power to homes, businesses, industries, and other power off-takers in the Aba ring-fenced area.

Speaking on why he accepted to build the plant in Aba, he told THE WHISTLER about his experience as an industrialist in the South East.

“There is another reason why I accepted to build the plant in Aba. I had experienced, firsthand, what industrialists in Igbo land were going through.

“As a professor of manufacturing engineering in the United States in the 1990s, I decided to build a plant in Emene, Enugu, to produce vehicle spare parts, including engines of the highest standard in the world. After all, I had watched my former students from Taiwan and other places in Southeast Asia rush home to produce sophisticated auto parts and engines.

“So, a large swath of land was purchased for this purpose, but when my South Korean partners visited Enugu, it became obvious that the project would not take off principally because of poor electricity. It was while I was thinking of how to help resolve the electricity problem in Ala Igbo that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala and Dr. Wolfohnson made the request. The rest is history,” Nnaji added.

The Outcome

Speaking about the challenges,  Prof Nnaji said, “I must add that it has since 2004 been tears, sweat and blood, to borrow the words of the late Mr. Winston Churchill, the former British prime minister.

“I don’t want to tell the story of sweat, blood, and tears now; all I can say at this moment is the game is worth the candle. Nothing can give as much fulfillment and satisfaction as working wholeheartedly for your people.”