Nnaji: I Voluntarily Resigned as Power Minister, Not Sacked

Ejiofor Alike

A former Minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji, has described as false, a statement by the former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Mr. Reno Omokri, that he (Nnaji) was fired over allegation of corruption.
Omokri had made the claim in response to the accusation by the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, who said the former president failed “woefully” during his regime.

Omokri had dismissed Okechukwu’s claim as lacking in facts, claiming that Jonathan fired two of his ministers – Nnaji and Stella Oduah – over corruption allegation, while the current administration is shielding government officials accused of corruption.

But in a swift response, Nnaji told journalists in Lagos yesterday that he resigned honourably from the Jonathan administration to protect his integrity and without any corruption allegation hanging on his neck.
He revealed that Omokri as a “mere” presidential aide was inconsequential and was not present when he informed Jonathan in a private meeting about his decision to resign.
“If you want to defend your boss, defend your boss correctly with facts. Do not go to impugn people’s character in order to defend your boss. I have not made any statement against anybody and I know exactly what happened in that place.

“There have been numerous reports about what transpired and I was very clear that those who were vested in the sector were out to get what they wanted. And all of you can see it today. Some of them did get what they wanted and I didn’t want to be part of any of that. That is why I resigned. So, anybody saying anything else is trying to find a way to deflect issues and it shouldn’t be an innocent person – somebody who came to serve his country and everybody knows what I did and the quality of work I did in the sector. There is absolutely nothing like that. I resigned; I have a letter of resignation, which I tendered to the president and I issued a statement, stating why I was resigning; that I didn’t want my integrity to be tampered with. It was very clear; it is public knowledge; you people reported it,” Nnaji explained.

The former minister, who further stated that he was still in possession of a copy of his resignation letter, added that two days after his resignation, the former president confirmed publicly that he did not commit any offence.
“It is actually quite funny. First, the presidential aide was not there when the president and I discussed my resignation and I have my letter of resignation and I resigned. The president and I discussed it, and I even issued a statement on why I resigned. But to make matters even much clearer, two days later, the president was directly asked what I did that I left the government, and he said, and I quote ‘Professor Nnaji committed no offence.’ It is there; all of you reported it. It is not from my mouth; it was from the president’s mouth,” Nnaji added.