Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Federal Government has inaugurated a Technical Working Group, TWG, to oversee the implementation of gas power projects in 774 local government areas across the country, as part of the National Gas Expansion Programme, NGEP.
The team, comprising representatives from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, NGEP, National Directorate of Employment, NDE, and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria ALGON, will drive the utilization, implementation, and establishment of gas projects in local communities.
The initiative aims to promote gas-based economic development and job creation in local communities.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Amb. Nicholas Agbo Ella, who inaugurated the team, emphasized the importance of the Gaspreneurship initiative, which encompasses the entire gas value chain, including exploration, production, transmission, and distribution.
Ella said the TWG will identify areas of intervention along the gas value chain, design energy audit templates, and select LGAs to participate in the implementation of gas-based projects, as well as develop a curriculum for empowerment training and upgrade Skills Acquisition Centres in LGAs.
He highlighted NDE’s strong focus on the vocational skills development program, which he said was a core mandate that aligns with NGEP’s Gaspreneurship initiative.
He said, “Gaspreneurship initiative, conceived and developed by the National Gas Expansion Programme, NGEP, encompasses the art and science of the entire gas value chain.
“The comprehensive training component covers the entire gas streams and operating principles, audit of machinery and equipment types, and capacity for suitable system installation and calibration.”
The Gaspreneurship Initiative would conclude with the provision of starter packs, including diagnostic tools and equipment, identification of appropriate workshops and business incubation centres in LGAs nationwide, which would enable trainee gaspreneurs to become employers of labour upon graduation.
Earlier, the Chairman of NGEP, Prof. Mohammed Ibrahim, emphasized the Technical Working Group of ALGON’s role in energizing LGAs to identify and develop gas-based projects and promote economic growth and job creation in the Local Government Areas.
Ibrahim charged the National Directorate of Employment to upgrade and develop the skills acquisition centres in all the 774 LGAs under their supervision as well as develop a curriculum that would have all the topics relating to empowerment training.
The Terms of Reference for the TWG include identifying clear areas of intervention along the gas value chains that can transform the socio-economic of the LGAs.
Others are, to design a simple energy (power and transportation) audit template for determining the energy requirements of the LGAs; as well as design a selection criterion for LGAs to participate in the various phases of the implementation of these initiatives, among others.
