The Federal Government has flagged off the training programme for 5,000-meter installers, for the first batch of selected applicants expected to undergo a three-week intensive programme, combining practical and classroom sessions, in Abuja, as part of efforts to accelerate the rollout of seven (7) million smart electricity meters and reduce the country’s metering gap.
The flag-off ceremony, held at the headquarters of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), was attended by Joseph Tegbe Minister of Power; Ayo Olawande, Minister of Youth Development; Olu Arowolo Verheijen, Executive Secretary of the Presidential Metering Initiative and Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas, and Obafemi Solebo, Project Director of the PMI.
Advisors Reports’ gathered that the training programme expected to produce 5,000-meter installers across the country was launched by President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
The ES of PMI stated that close to 220,000 submissions were received from interested young Nigerians across the country during the application period.
Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Governor of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), who also chairs the PMI Board said, “PMI is not just about fixing the finances of the power sector through metering. It is also about impacting the lives of young Nigerians, through training and skills development.”
The Governor who was represented at the event by Mr. Edmund Obiora Nnaji, Executive Director, Finance and Administration at the NGF, called on Governors to explore “supporting this Power Force initiative with a view to expanding the pool beyond the initial five thousand trainees being targeted.”
Power Minister Tegbe said, “Behind every successful metering programme must stand thousands of competent, certified and dedicated technicians.
“The 5,000 young Nigerians being trained under this initiative will become the backbone of Nigeria’s smart metering workforce.”
The Power Force initiative, he added, “demonstrates that our electricity reforms are not merely about equipment and technology; they are equally about creating opportunities, building human capital and securing livelihoods.”
He commended the Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) for withdrawing a court action it had instituted against the meter deployment programme, noting that “that singular decision has removed a significant obstacle to the accelerated deployment of electricity meters across the country.”
Youth Minister Olawande said Power Force is directly supporting his Ministry’s “One Youth, Two Skills” initiative. “This is not just the launch of a training programme; it is about creating jobs and opportunities for Nigerian youths to contribute to national development,” he said.
He added, “President Tinubu’s administration has demonstrated that Nigeria’s federal ministries, departments and agencies can have the force of collaboration in making sure the dividends of democracy get to everybody in the country.”
Special Adviser Verheijen described the PMI as the largest metering programme in the history of Nigeria, established under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “to solve one of the biggest barriers to a reliable electricity sector: ensuring that every Nigerian pays only for the electricity they actually use.”
She added, “One young installer cannot transform Nigeria. But five thousand can inspire fifty thousand. And fifty thousand can inspire millions more. That is how movements begin.
“One opportunity. One person. One act of service at a time,” she said.
Verheijen further emphasised that following the Abuja launch, the Power Force training will expand to various centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
She explained that upon completion, trainees will receive formal certification by NEMSA as qualified meter installers who have met national and international competence and safety standards.
In his address,
