A Bill seeking the establishment of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) scaled second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The bill which was sponsored by Hon. Wale Raji seeks to create a legal framework for the operation and administration of the institute under the extant laws.
Raji, who led the debate on the bill, said the crux of the document was to cloth the already existing institute with legal status.
He said the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act, 2005 provided the platform for the deregulation of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry from the control, ownership and regulation of the Federal Government to the private sector.
According to the lawmaker, the reform basically focused on accomplishing many goals among which are power stability, reliability, sustainability, and human capacity development.
Raji said: “In response to this reform and to address the lingering issues on human capacity development, NAPTIN was established in March 23, 2009.
NAPTIN is to provide a structural and standardised training process in order to achieve manpower capacity development in the power sector.
“With the successful completion of the reform and privatisation programme, NAPTIN along with some newly established institutions in the power sector assumed the status of a parastatal of the Federal Government under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Power.
In view of the above Executive act, it is imperative that NAPTIN is established by an Act of parliament to empower the institute to actualise its mission and goals.
The creation, establishment, structure, composition, finance, and functions of the institute will serve as a focal point for the development and capacity building as well as a research centre on matters relating to power in Nigeria and Africa at large.”
