By Yange Ikyaa
The Director General of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), Mr. Ahmed Nagode, has disclosed that the Federal Government, through NAPTIN, and with financing from AgenceFrançaise de Developpement (AFD) and the European Union, has embarked on a project to enhance vocational training for the power sector in Nigeria.
Nagode also said that consultants have been engaged to assist in reviewing and redeveloping product packages with a view to making Nigeria’s electricity market to be globally competitive.
The NAPTIN DG stated this at the NAPTIN Alumni Seminar, which held in Abuja recently, with the theme: ‘’Unlocking Power Sector Potentials Through Continuing Professional Development.”
According to him, “there are huge opportunities to reshape the power sector into one that is more efficient, sustainable, and resilient. Opportunities to harness emerging technologies, leverage renewable energy sources, and revolutionize the way we generate, transmit, and consume power.”
Through NAPTIN, Nigeria is said to be earning foreign exchange from the training of power sector manpower in other climes, even as Nagodeconfirmed that South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Ghana, Liberia and others have gained from Nigeria’s wealth of experience. This, he said, indicates that a stronger human capacity development drive could help grow the power sector in Nigeria and other African countries.
He further expressed that “I must say that the training at NAPTIN is world-class, and we are a centre of excellence in Africa. We have trained staff of Malawi and South Africa. We just concluded training for 100 staff of Mozambique electricity industry. We are training staff in Angola and we are starting another in Liberia in the second week of June.
“We are not only training staff of Nigerian power utilities, but we are also generating foreign exchange for the country because the training we offer outside of Nigeria is paid for in forex.”
Meanwhile, the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) recently said it has been set to broker a strategic partnership with NAPTIN in order to build the capacity of Niger Delta youths, especially ex-agitators, in power-related matters.
Freston Akpor, media aide to the PAP Interim Administrator, said in a statement that under the plan, PAP will complete, equip and handover its vocational training centre at Bomadi, Delta State to NAPTIN to run as a full-fledged training institute to provide manpower for the power sub-sector.
The partnership was brokered when the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (rtd), paid a courtesy visit to the NAPTIN Director-General, Ahmed Bolaji Nagode, in Abuja.
General Ndiomu explained that the visit was a prelude to working out the modalities in setting up a committee to prepare a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in preparation for early take-off of the partnership.
The Interim Administrator noted that the “various vocational training centers in Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Rivers states are springboards to re-write the socio-economic narrative of the Niger Delta”.
He emphasized that Presidential Amnesty Programme, being the driver of the initiative, needs to be properly guided in the processes of completion, provision of equipment and accreditation of the centre at Bomadi.
Ndiomu noted that NAPTIN “has trained over 15,000 persons with training centers spread across the country, makes it the institution of choice for the strategic partnership”.
Responding, the NAPTIN DG commended PAP boss for the initiative, and for being futuristic in his thinking, bearing in mind that the Amnesty Programme will not last forever.
“This collaboration is in the interest of youths in the Niger Delta and NAPTIN is ready to collaborate with PAP in creating a teaching institute to build their capacity in diverse fields in the power sub-sector”.
He also reassured the PAP team of NAPTIN’s readiness to kick-start the partnership, following the constitution of a high-level committee, comprising officials of both agencies to articulate and harmonize the ideas to birth the MoU for take-off.