Mr. Johnson Akinnawo, FCA, CFAN, is the Acting Managing Director/CEO of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PLC (NBET). With over 20 years of experience in finance and energy, an Accountant by training, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and holds an MBA degree (2000) specializing in Finance.

He is an Energy Contract Management Specialist. He has also attended several executive leadership and management courses at Harvard Law School, Cambridge Massachusetts, USA, London Business School, London UK, Aarhus University, Aarhus Denmark, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, Lagos Business School, – Lagos, Nigeria, and Public Utility Research Center, University of Florida, USA.

Since inception, he has been a part of NBET Management Team, starting as the pioneer Financial Controller in 2012, he was central to the establishment of a robust accounting system, ensuring transparency in energy market settlements. Subsequently as General Manager, Origination, Contract Management, and Administration, he led IPP planning and contract negotiations, driving key projects like the 726MW Trans Afam Power Purchase Agreement and the 50MW Maiduguri Emergency Power Plan, which restored electricity to Maiduguri after insurgent-related outages.

Currently, he is focused on efforts aimed at stabilizing Nigeria’s electricity market, enhancing liquidity across the power value chain, and collaborating with regulators, stakeholders, and the Federal Government to ensure sector sustainability. He also provides visionary leadership in spearheading the establishment of Africa’s first Energy Exchange, aiming to stimulate the evolution of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) to a more viable, transparent and efficient wholesale electricity market.