Lagos flags off energy academy

LAGOS State Governor,
Babatunde Fashola, has
formally commissioned the
Lagos Energy Academy, to
groom electricity
professionals while inducting
the first batch of its students.
The governor said, “This
first key step will herald the
training of many batches of
power engineers and artisans
who will provide the
necessary human capital for
lighting Lagos and Nigeria.”
He stated that the academy
would provide training for
young people to become
technicians and electrical
engineers and provide
training in generation,
transmission and distribution.
Fashola explained that there
are modules on simulated substation
as well as transformers
and all sorts of learning
equipment and tools in the
Academy situated at the Lagos
State Electricity Board, LSEB
complex, GRA, Ikeja.
Fashola said, “The biggest
needs of this society today is
power, and as the Discos
(distribution companies) are
taking position, they are going
to need men and women,
boys and girls who will provide
the manpower the knowledge.
And this is where we have
decided to invest; to connect
these young people to jobs
that are waiting to be taken
so that they do not continue
to complain about
unemployment.
“So, we have taken them
from all levels, from
vocational centres, technical
colleges and through our
schools systems to give them
a chance to start out a new
career in power sector in
Lagos.”
“We believe that over the
years, there is a possibility to
produce as many as 200,000
graduates who would have
Siemens certification to be
able to work anywhere.
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“We are also partnering with
a meter manufacturing
company which is training
them on how to diagnose faults
in meters - the old analogue
meters, the digital meters, the
card meters. So they are able
to render service in terms of
power generation,
transmission and distribution
and all other challenges.”
Mainland IPP
Speaking on the Mainland
Independent Power Project,
Fashola said it would be the
sixth IPP that the state will be
completing, and is currently
going through the precommissioning
testing.
He said that the project will
be commissioned before
October ends, adding that it is
designed to supply power to
Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital, LASUTH,
the High Court, the Lagos State
Police Command, and other
public institutions in Ikeja axis.
Speaking on the
opportunities available for
people from other states, the
Governor said there is always
room to take on people from
other states if they meet the
pre-qualification tests.
“You can’t just walk in here.
You have to satisfy basic literacy
competence and knowledge
and quantitative test to get
people in. At the first
application we had about 200
people, only about 90 passed
at that time, but I don’t have
final details of how many finally
qualified. But it is very serious
business because the certificate
you would be getting is a global
certificate from a brand like
Siemens,” he explained.