The Federal Government says it has begun the recruitment of 500
qualified engineers for the effective running of the nation’s 10 new
power plants.
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State made this known to State House
correspondents after a meeting of the Board of the Niger Delta Power
Holding Company, presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo in Abuja on Friday.
Fayemi, who is also a member of the board, said the exercise was meant to address the critical challenge of lack of skilled manpower in the nation’s power sector.
He said that lack of skilled manpower was threatening the smooth take
off and operations of the new power plants built across the country.
He said: “We also looked at the National Power Training Institute.
“All of these plants are coming on stream and we are excited about them.
“But one critical challenge that the country faces is the lack of
skilled manpower for managing the plants.
“We do not want to have plants that will turn out to be white elephant or they turn out to be run by Chinese, Germans and Europeans who have built the plants.”
The governor frowned at the quality of engineers being produced by the nation’s universities and polytechnics, saying that such engineers were not employable in the power sector.
He, however, stated that NAPTI had since commenced massive retraining
programme for local engineers and artisans who might be redeployed to
operate the new power plants.
Fayemi said: “You all know, I’m not telling you anything new, we have
engineers being produced by our universities that are not necessarily
employable and you need to retrain them in order for them to be able
to function in these new plants that are being built.
“And NAPTI is intended to fill this gap by helping to retrain many of
the engineers as well as artisans who will be needed to fill the gaps
that are bound to exist in the new power plants that are being set up. “So, we received the report from NAPTI Executive and from the ministry of power on our own interest and contribution.
“And a range of things were discussed in ensuring that those who come
on stream, about 500 people are being recruited now to undergo
training in NAPTI.
“And in addition to that, we need to ensure that this is done
professionally through open advertisement, but also being mindful of
spread and federal character in the course of this recruitment.”
Fayemi commended the General Electric Company for building a local
plant in Calabar, Cross River state for the production of spare parts
for the nation’s power plants.
“We are asking all the manufacturers to take a cue from GE and set up
plants here,” he added.
He condemned the recent attack on one of the power plants in Delta
State, saying the incident had impacted negatively on the government’s target of energising 4000 megawatts by the end of the year.
He said: “I’m sure you are aware of the attack on one of the plants in Delta State and the impact that might have on our earlier promise.
“We are still very confident that we will deliver according to the promise.”
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