A vote of confidence has been cast for Nigeria’s new Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, based on his previous performance.

Speaking a day after Nebo assumed duties, Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Bartholomew Okolo, yesterday confidently predicted that the minister would certainly succeed in his new assignment because of his “exceptional skills as an administrator.”

Said Okolo, who succeeded Nebo as the 13^th Vice Chancellor of UNN: “We do not have any doubt that he will perform creditably. Nebo is a good administrator and has a good record of accomplishment of success in administration of complex entities. He has excellent people and project management skills necessary for tackling the intrigues in the sector, probably because of his background, and a capacity for weathering that kind of storm arising from the Nigerian factor.”

News Express reports that the University of Nigeria community as well as analysts regard Nebo’s tenure at the institution as successful as he managed the contending interests threatening to explode in the school as well as set the institution on a path of growth that Okolo has built on.

The UNN Vice Chancellor said that Nebo has “a special characteristic” requisite for success in administration.

According to Prof. Okolo, “Nebo is free of ego. It is only when you are free of ego that you can harness the human resources around you. He has the capacity to identify, select and manage human resources.”

The UNN Vice Chancellor who is currently hosting the first meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the UNESCO Category 2 International Biotechnology Centre at the institution added that Nigeria’s power challenge required effective administration and harnessing of all resources. He assured Nigerians Nebo is the right man to fix the problem, adding: “All the same, we are praying for his success in this role.”

President Goodluck Jonathan swore in Prof. Chinedu Nebo on Tuesday and named him Minister of Power. The position had been vacant since the resignation, late August last year, of the erstwhile minister, Prof. Barth Nnaji, whose reform programme Nebo is expected to carry out to a logical conclusion.

•Photo: Power Minister, Prof. Chinedu Nebo.

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