Maven plugin prefix resolution doesn't seem to work as expected

I've created a MOJO for a specific application need. I've followed maven's guidelines in naming the plugin so that I didn't have to mention the full

mvn groupId:artifactId:version:goal

for executing my plugin(I've named it to match the format ${prefix}-maven-plugin). I've even included the 'goalPrefix' property in the plugin POM's configuration section. Here's a sniff of what I did to my plugin's POM:

<configuration>
  <goalPrefix>${prefix}</goalPrefix>
</configuration>

But I'm still unable to execute my plugin just using mvn ${prefix}:goal since it complains it can't find the plugin in any repository. I've still had to use mvn groupId:artifactId:version:goal Any idea why?