By UCHE CHUKWU
Anambra State Ministry for Transport has organised a free three-day Electric Vehicle (EV) Skills Acquisition and Empowerment Workshop in partnership with EV Automobiles have for youths in the State
The trainees numbering about 2000 are going to wind up their programme in Awka the State , today.
Declaring the training workshop open, on behalf of the State governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the Commissioner for Transport, Hon Edward Ibuzo, said the programme mainly aims to train the participants on acquisition of knowledge and practice of operations of electric vehicle skills for self-growth, mentorship and nation building
Ibuzo said the event was meant for transporters, drivers, mechanics ,private park operators, mass transit companies, students, youths, technicians, young professionals, logistics delivery,, courier service operators, transport unions including Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), National Road Transport Organisation (NARTO) and operators of students’ union bus schemes.
He commented EV Automobiles for following the footsteps of the governor in making Anambra a clean, digitalized, smart, lovable and prosperous state in Nigeria by 2070.
Presenting a resource paper, the Executive Manager of EV automobiles Limited, Obiora Okafor. disclosed that Electric Vehicles were designed in such a way that the user could charge the battery at home and public place respectively, urging Nigerians to embrace the new technology and development by switching from petrol engine vehicle model to electrical devices. He said the programme was meant for every resident in the State calling for increased investment in power infrastructure.
He predicted the futuristic importance of the programme, noting: "What we are doing here today is very important because in the next ten years everyone will be forced to switch from petrol to electric vehicle amid continuous rise in petroleum products, particularly in Nigeria.
"The electric vehicles are manufactured at affordable price with 20-years guarantee of its batteries and brake pads." He expressed the hope that that EV Automobiles Limited would sustain the move for future use of electric vehicles in Nigeria and Africa continent as a whole.
"The electric vehicles, if fully understood, will make life easier for our people amidst persistent fuel increase, which is why we have mapped out arrangement to carry out the sensitization exercise across the 36 states of Nigeria, Okafor added. Speaking on the sideline of the event , a former Senior Special Assistant to the governor ,Hon Chiejina Obieze noted that the ceremony would promote clean and sustainable transportation as well as cost saving mechanism through transition from petrol vehicle to electric vehicle use. He noted that the
Free EV Skills Acquisition Workshop was aimed at preparing for the future of mobility, through the skills development, human capital development and training opportunity.
Obieze condemned those who dismiss innovation products from China as cheap, commended the Anambra State government for the initiative and partnership, and called for pro-active measures to sustain the programme. According to him, the programme would see Nigeria transition from internal-combustion vehicles powered by petrol or diesel to electric vehicles.
He said the motor and technical hands would be required to add new electrical, electronic and diagnostic skills to their existing experience for the transition to fulfil its end.
According to him. many individuals and corporate bodies are becoming increasingly interested in
Electric vehicles in aspects of diagnostics, batteries, charging and maintenance.
Obieze called for development of technical standards and workforce for easy transition so that the programme doesn't suffer setback as experienced with CNG.
He
noted that introduction of electric vehicle was part of Nigeria’s developmental strides towards automotive development agenda, with much emphasis on clean-energy automotive skills and youth employability.
In his remark, the State Chairman of Road Transport Workers Employes Association (RTEAN) Williams Okonkwo noted that the
Free EV Skills Acquisition Workshop was aimed at preparing for the future of mobility, through the skills development, human capital development and training opportunity. Okonkwo. said the EV initiative would give insight into pursuit of careers in automobile engineering, electrical/electronic technology, diagnostics, transportation and other related fields.
He called on the Ministry and other relevant bodies to provide an enabling environment to take further steps to actualize the objective in the context of vehicle durability, maintenance availability and battery disability. .
Okonkwo pointed out that more awareness have been created in the innovation in automobile industry which transits from traditional methods to mechanical knowledge with electrical, electronic, digital and diagnostic capabilities. He noted that the programme would enable the government to promote the transition to clean fuels for automobiles and prepare transport stakeholders for the growing adoption of electric vehicles in the world. He called on young people and students who are interested in automobile technology, mechanics, automobile technical works, electrical and electronics, entrepreneurs, and automotive services as well as people interested in emerging clean-energy technologies to embrace the programme for job creation, wealth generation, improved livelihoods, poverty alleviation and national development.