Enugu Disco Employs Fresh Graduates to Boost Service Delivery

.As Enugu communities groan in darkness
Ejiofor Alike

As part of the efforts to boost service delivery to its esteemed customers in Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi States, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has employed fresh graduates into the second phase of its graduate trainee programme.

This is coming as communities in Udenu, Isi-Uzo and Igbo-Eze North Local Government Areas of Enugu State, which are under the company’s franchise area, have continued to groan in darkness, following the power outage that has persisted for nearly three months.
The company’s Head of Communications, Mr. Emeka Ezeh said in a statement at the weekend that the employment of the 35 graduates was also part of the company’s contribution towards job creation in the country.

Ezeh said the successful candidates who had already gone through the on-boarding process had been deployed to different sections of the company’s operations where they would be trained over a two-year period in all aspects of the company’s operations.

“The programme, which is patterned after some successful graduate traineeship programs, is a conscious initiative by the Management of EEDC to attract and develop the best and brightest young graduates from Universities within and outside the country. These individuals will eventually assume key roles as they become available within the organisation, as part of EEDC’s business continuity and human capital development strategy,” he said.

Ezeh added that the training had been grouped in two tracks, stressing that the first track comprises of operations, Revenue Cycle Services (RCS), project management and engineering; while the second track comprises of finance, administration, ICT, procurement and human resources.

“The trainees will equally have a feel of Customer Service, Regulatory, Communications and Safety operations. During the period of the training, each candidate is be assigned to a mentor who provides guidance as well as review their accomplishments and the challenges they may face in the course of their training period,” Ezeh added.

EEDC had in November 2016, launched this scheme with 20 graduate trainees who were successful after the very rigorous screening exercise.
In a related development, communities in Udenu, Isi-Uzo and Igbo-Eze North Local Government Areas of Enugu State, which are under the company’s franchise area, have continued to groan in darkness, following the power outage that has persisted for over two months.

All the communities in these three local government areas, including Eha-Amufu and Ikem in Isi-Uzo; Obollo –Eke, Obollo-Etiti, Obollo Afor and Orba in Udenu, as well as Enugu-Ezike in Igbo-Eze North have been in darkness, following what the company had described as an electrical fault in Eha-Amufu that was yet to be cleared as a result of the insecurity and attack experienced by the staff of the company in charge of these areas.

The company had explained that its staff going about their lawful duty were attacked and assaulted by over 300 youths of Eha-Amufu community on June 8, 2017.
According to the company, the mob destroyed equipment, furniture, as well as other work tools at the EEDC Service Centre in Eha-Amufu.

After the incident, the company made some demands, which include: an undertaking by the community, assuring and guaranteeing EEDC of the safety of its personnel to enable them move in and clear the fault; replacement of all the destroyed equipment and providing the youths that perpetrated the act.

Sahara Group’s Tonye Cole Joins WEF’s Trust and Integrity Committee
Sahara Group’s Executive Director and Co-Founder, Mr. Tonye Cole has become a member of the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum’s “Future of Trust and Integrity Project” as WEF continues to ramp up initiatives and collaborations aimed at enhancing transparency in business. This project is a key opportunity for businesses globally, to join an important initiative with leading businesses, experts and public figures dedicated to collectively designing trust into the system.
Cole’s appointment follows Sahara’s leading role in promoting transparency and good governance principles in Africa through its membership of WEF’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI).

According to Ms. Ramya Krishnaswamy, Head, Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and Member of the Executive of the World Economic Forum, “The objective of the project is to build trust and integrity while addressing the root causes of corruption to promote sustained economic growth, restore organizational credibility and build stability. As a leading African company, Cole and Sahara Group can bring unique experience and regional knowledge to benefit the Forum’s project and community.”
Cole described his membership as a “huge privilege to align with other stakeholders on how transparency in business can be achieved through regional collaboration and sustainable initiatives.”

“Sahara Group is excited about this opportunity to serve alongside other corporations and organizations who share our passion for business integrity and transparency. We are excited that the PACI conversation is tilting strongly towards using the platform of cooperation between governments and the private sector as a major avenue for achieving PACI’s objectives.”

The multi-year project was mandated at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 in Davos-Klosters, after a call for action for public-private cooperation to further address corruption. The multi-sector project aims to capture regional dynamics to inform global debate through leveraging technological, behavioral and institutional enablers.

The Steering Committee consists of Forum Industry Partner CEOs and their respective senior executive delegates, adding that the Steering Committee members are responsible for the overall guidance and governance of the project, while the Advisory Committee – consisting of experts in academia, civil society and government – provides content for the project.

PACI has over the past ten years become the leading global business voice on anti-corruption and transparency. Under the aegis of PACI, over 80 active companies are leading the call to action for businesses around the world to commit to zero tolerance of corruption in all its forms; and to join collective action initiatives to increase public trust in business, deliver fair markets and level the playing field by fighting corruption.

Textile Stakeholder Advocates Teaching of Clothing in Varsities
Concerned about the lack of growth of Nigeria’s Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) industry, a London-trained textile business mogul and fashion industrialist, Fatai Olayiwola Olumegbon, has charged the federal government to introduce into the nation’s education curricula the teaching of garment and clothing in Nigerian schools and universities.

According to him, no university or polytechnic in Nigeria currently teaches garments and clothing, pointing out that encouraging and supporting the nation’s clothing industry would go a long way to attaining economic growth and development as obtainable in developed countries.

He, however, commended the federal government for its various economic policies to drive growth and development in the country, even as he urged youths to take advantage of the opportunities the policies would create in order to earn means of livelihood and self-reliance.
Olumegbon also admonished youths, aspiring businessmen and women that the key word to achieving success in the industry required much hard work and self-discipline.

“It is the seriousness. If you decide to do something for your life, you have to be serious at it. You should not allow your social life to disturb it because in anything you do, you have to remember or give account of everything, therefore you have to run away from distractions, otherwise you cannot make progress,” he said.
Olumegbon advised operators and stakeholders in the industry to embark on mass production of local designs which could meet both local and global benchmarks, arguing that this would be the only way to grow the sector.

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