President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria is poised to lead Africa’s renewable energy revolution following the inauguration of the continent’s first Renewable Energy College in Kogi State.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu commissioned the Barefoot Renewable Energy College alongside the Green Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Pilot Plant at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, on Tuesday.
According to a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, the President described the institution as a landmark investment that would position Nigeria at the forefront of renewable energy capacity development in Africa.
Tinubu said the college was designed to address one of Nigeria’s major development challenges by equipping citizens with practical skills to harness the country’s abundant renewable energy resources.
He noted that the institution was modelled after India’s successful Barefoot College initiative, which trained rural women as solar engineers.
“If that method could light the villages of Rajasthan, it can light the settlements of Kogi, Ondo and Cross River. Nigeria assumes, from today, the position of pacesetter in renewable energy capacity development across Africa,” the President said.
Tinubu described the project as a deliberate effort to close Africa’s skills gap in the energy transition, stressing that the continent’s greatest challenge was not a lack of ambition but a shortage of trained professionals.
He said the college would produce technicians, installers, operators and maintenance specialists with internationally recognised certifications that would enable them to compete globally.
“A certificate issued in Osara must one day command respect in Nairobi and in Frankfurt,” he added.
The President called on development partners, research institutions and the private sector to collaborate with the college, assuring them of Nigeria’s readiness to drive partnerships in renewable energy innovation.
He also commended the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Udeh, the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, and the Kogi State Government for facilitating the successful completion of the project.
Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo described the college as a significant investment in human capital that would strengthen Nigeria’s energy sector, attract investment and create employment opportunities.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh, said the institution reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to building a knowledge-driven economy, adding that a skilled workforce would be critical to Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a one-trillion-dollar economy.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mustapha Abdullahi, said the facility is equipped with smart classrooms, battery energy laboratories, a mini-grid simulation centre and other modern facilities to train professionals in renewable energy research and technology.
The Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr. Ahmed Anaje, welcomed the project, saying it would empower young Nigerians with technical skills needed to contribute to national development while boosting the country’s transition to clean energy.
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