President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that ongoing reforms will deliver a more transparent, accountable and sustainable electricity sector as the Federal Government launched a training programme for 5,000 youths in smart meter installation under the Presidential Metering Initiative, PMI.
The programme, inaugurated on Thursday at the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, NAPTIN, in Abuja, is designed to bridge the country’s metering gap, strengthen the power sector and create skilled jobs.
Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the initiative reflects the administration’s commitment to developing critical infrastructure alongside human capital.
The president said the transformation of Nigeria’s electricity sector would require consistency, collaboration, technical excellence and sustained commitment to reforms.
“The transformation of Nigeria’s electricity sector will not occur overnight. It requires consistency, partnership, technical excellence, and unwavering commitment to reform,” he said.
Tinubu said the Federal Government would expand the programme beyond the initial 5,000 beneficiaries to provide more employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
“We are not stopping at 5,000; we will keep ramping up to 10,000, 15,000 and we might even get to 500,000. This programme creates meaningful employment and equips young people with future-ready technical skills,” he said.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring fair electricity billing and improved service delivery across the country.
“Every Nigerian deserves to pay only for the actual electricity consumed, while every service provider deserves to be paid for the electricity supplied.
“Better days lie ahead. We are steadily building an electricity sector that is more transparent, more accountable, more sustainable and more responsive to the needs of every citizen,” he said.
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Tinubu added that the first batch of trainees would form the backbone of Nigeria’s smart metering programme, helping to ensure that millions of households and businesses receive professionally installed meters that meet the highest technical and safety standards.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy and Executive Secretary of the PMI, Olu Verheijen, said the government plans to deploy more than seven million smart meters under what she described as the largest metering programme in Nigeria’s history.
“We’re deploying more than seven million meters as the largest metering programme in our nation’s history. But seven million meters require thousands of skilled Nigerians. Capital can be raised and equipment procured, but no nation develops without capable people,” she said.
Verheijen disclosed that although only 5,000 training slots were available, the programme attracted nearly 220,000 applications from young Nigerians nationwide.
“Applications have now closed. We had 5,000 places, but we received almost 220,000 applications from young Nigerians across our country. That tells us something profound. “Beneath the unemployment statistics lies a generation that is ready to work if given the opportunity,” she said.
She added that successful participants would receive professional training from NAPTIN, industry certification from the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, NEMSA, and pathways to employment with electricity distribution companies and meter providers.
Chairman of the PMI Board and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by Edmund Nnaji, Executive Director of Finance and Administration at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum urged state governments to support the initiative, describing it as a strategic platform for building a highly skilled workforce for the electricity sector.
NAPTIN Director-General, Ahmed Nagode, said the training curriculum combines classroom instruction with intensive practical sessions approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to produce industry-ready professionals.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the initiative aligns with the ministry’s One Youth, Two Skills programme by equipping young Nigerians with practical skills that promote employment, entrepreneurship and self-reliance.
The Presidential Metering Initiative is being implemented in partnership with NEMSA, NAPTIN, the World Bank and other stakeholders to accelerate reforms in Nigeria’s electricity sector.
