Nigerian oil magnate, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Emeka Wilson Orakwue Offor has suffered backlash from Nigerians over his alleged role in slowing down the actualization of the Geometric power plant in Osisioma, Aba.
Inaugurated by vice president Kashim Shettima on Tuesday, the 188-megawatt geometric power plant in Aba, Abia State, will help accelerate power supply to industrial clusters in the region.
The power plant, regarded as Nigeria’s first integrated electrical facility, is located in the south-eastern state’s Osisioma industrial zone.
It is thought that the Aba Power Limited Electric, a new electricity distribution business (DisCo), will absorb electricity from the plant and provide it to nine of Abia’s 17 local government areas.
The project, which took nearly two decades to complete, according to reports, would have been completed if not for the alleged actions and inactions of Offor.
Accusing Offor, Chinasa Nworu (@Chinasa Nworu) said in a statement on X, “Emeka Offor, the Chairman of Chrome Groups and Promoter of Interstate Electrics Limited, is trending for allegedly having a hand in slowing down the actualization of the geometric power plant in Osisioma, Aba.
“It took nearly two decades for Geometric to finally get a shot at fulfilling its promise to provide 24-hour power supply to the city of Aba after it turned on the first of its four power-generating turbines for the first time on Sunday, February 25, 2024.
“Emeka Offor, who was a close friend of Namadi Sambo, Nigeria’s Vice President at the time, was said to have frustrated the operation of the power plant primed to deliver uninterrupted power supply to Aba.
“Emeka Offor, who was blocking the project, had Pius Anyim, secretary to the government of the federation, in his pocket, while Sam Amadi, the chairman and CEO of NERC, was beholden to Anyim.
“Geometric was licenced in 2005 to deliver power supply to Aba and Ariaria business units, just two out of 18 business units in the Enugu Disco licence areas.
“However, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) sold EEDC to Emeka Offor’s Interstate Electrics without exempting Aba from the sale, thereby causing friction between Interstate Electrics and Geometric.
“The backing of then Vice President Namadi Sambo titled the balance in favour of Offor’s Interstate Electrics.
“According to sources, the former vice president had vested interests in Interstate Electrics and wanted the company to end up buying Enugu Disco.
“It resulted in a lot of disputes and lawsuits at a federal high court in Abuja. Long story short, 19 years later, the 181-megawatt geometric power plant in Aba, described as the biggest investment in the Southeast, is a reality!”
Describing Offor as “the greedy billionaire of Anambra extraction,” Emeka Gift (@EmekaGift100) alleged that “This man held Anambra down between 1999 and 2003 but was made politically inconsequential by Peter Obi.
“Unfortunately, Professor Soludo came in and brought him to relevance again.
“According to reports, Offor left Anambra, went to Aba, and frustrated Prof. Barth Nnaji’s efforts to give Aba 24/7 electricity.
“No wonder Emeka Offor couldn’t provide light to Anambra as his mandate required. This is because one cannot give what he doesn’t have.”
Describing him as a “tin god,” Family Press Writers International stated that “Wilson Orakwue Offor, the local tin god, who behaves more callously than the Pharaoh of Egypt as recorded in the Bible, brutalised and continues to brutalise many of his own people in the same Oraifite.
“He intimated and arrested a man of God from neighbouring Ozubulu town named Agu Udor, who revealed that Alusi Sunday killed his sister Joy Igboanuzue. He also caused the arrest of Ifeanyi Igboanuzue, Tochukwu Igboanuzue, and Chinedu Igboanuzue.
“In 2014, Wilson Orakwue Offor spent most of this January celebrating his 40 years of stealing from public institutions, much in the same way he stole beans from the kitchen of Merchant of Lights Secondary School at Oba I Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State in 1974, which led to his rustication from the school the same year. This man has been stealing since the time of Moses.”
