Posted on: 04:56 Tue, 19 Apr 2016



The Federal Government would, in
May, sign a 50 million Euros (about
(N11.15 billion) loan agreement
with French government for
capacity-building and upgrade of
power training facilities in Nigeria,
a government official has said.

Dr. Reuben Okeke , Director-General,
National Power Training Institute
of Nigeria (NAPTIN) made this
known at a graduation of trainees
at the institute’s National Graduate
Skills Development Programme
(NGSDP) on Monday in Abuja.

Okeke said that President
Muhammadu Buhari was expected to
sign the agreement on behalf of
Nigeria, while President of France,
Francois Hollandewould sign for his
country.

“By next month, the President of
Federal Republic of Nigeria and
that of France will be signing a loan
agreement to get NAPTIN
completely transformed, up to a
tune of 50 million Euros,” he said.

He said that at the current rate of
N222.8 to one Euro, the loan would
be valued at N11.15 billion, adding
that the fund would help NAPTIN’s
training programme.

Okeke said that the institute’s
programme was answer to
manpower shortage in the technical
skills in Nigeria’s power section.

According to him, the success of the
recent power sector reform will
depend on the availability of a
qualified workforce to meet the
needs of the industry.

He said that there was need for
NAPTIN to structure its operations
to reflect the needs of the private
sector.

He disclosed that the institute was
currently working with a leading
international consulting outfit for
funding support of the Agence
Francaise de Development (AFD) to
evolve a new strategic plan.

The director-general said that the
plan included the training needs of
the new private entrants as well as
their participation in the delivery
process.

He disclosed that with the
assistance of AFD, NAPTIN would
become a hub for power sector
professional development in West
Africa.

He said that 154 candidates
enrolled for the NGSDP training in
the 2014/2015 batch, adding that
“today the institute is graduating
142 engineers – 48 distribution
engineers, 58 generation and 36 in
the transmission cadre.”