President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged engineering lecturers who were sponsored to receive specialised training in pipefitting and welding in Canada, to train more Ghanaians to cut down expatriate costs in the country's oil and gas sector.

President Akufo-Addo said the government spends huge sums of money to engage expatriates to carry out specialised work such as pipe fitting, mechanical technician and welding, among others in the sector.

"We are going to cut down as part of the huge investment being made in the oil and gas sector, monies paid to expatriates with such skills and prove that Ghanaian skills are as good as those anywhere else in the world."

President Akufo-Addo said this when the nine engineering lecturers, led by the CEO of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille, called on him at the Presidency on Monday.

Since independence, there are no technical institutions in this country that trains and certifies pipe fitters, and when the need arises, expatriates are brought at a great cost to the nation.

In January this year, the Petroleum Commission sponsored nine engineering lecturers from various public technical universities in the country to receive specialised training at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada under the 'Master Instructor Framework' to enhance their teaching skills.

The sponsorship was under the government's Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) programme established to enhance the capacity of Ghanaians to enable them to work in the oil and gas sector.

The CEO of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille said the nine trainers, two of which are women, underwent rigorous 11 months of training in pipe fittings and also had advanced certification in welding and mechanical technician.

Mr Faibille said the programme forms part of efforts to deepen the participation of Ghanaians in the oil and gas sector, particularly, the upstream petroleum industry.

The lecturers are Emmanuel Marcus Abaidoo, Daniel Kyei-Kankam and Frank Nana Osei, all from the Takoradi Technical University and Isaac Oppong from Kikam Technical Institute.

Abdul Hamid Mohammed from Tamale Technical University, Wise Kwashie Klomegah from Ho Technical University, Samuel Garriba from Cape Coast Technical University and Gladys Perpetual Awudi from the Koforidua Technical University.