PTDF screens 931 S’West candidates for overseas scholarship
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has screened at least 931 candidates from the South-West zone for an overseas scholarship scheme. Speaking with newsmen during the screening held at the Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, University of Ibadan, the team leader from PTDF, Masud Muhammed, explained that the exercise was part of the annual initiative to […]
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has screened at least 931 candidates from the South-West zone for an overseas scholarship scheme.
Speaking with newsmen during the screening held at the Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, University of Ibadan, the team leader from PTDF, Masud Muhammed, explained that the exercise was part of the annual initiative to build human capacity for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Muhammed, who is the Manager, College of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna (CPESK) under the PTDF, said 749 candidates were screened last week for the Master’s category, with the interviews scheduled in both morning and afternoon sessions over five days.
He said 182 candidates had been screened for doctoral degrees in fields relevant to the petroleum sector.
According to him, the scholarship scheme is in fulfillment of one of its mandates, stating that it remained a deliberate strategy to boost indigenous expertise and bridge the capacity gap in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
“One of the mandates of the PTDF is the responsibility of developing capacity for the oil and gas industry, and that’s precisely why we are doing this.”
“The screening is strictly on oil and gas-related courses and the initiative has been running for several years now and produced scholars who are making valuable contributions to the society,” he said.
The team lead also explained that the screening exercise was decentralised, with six centres established nationwide, one per geopolitical zone, to ease participation.
He said the scheme aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu in term of human capacity development of Nigerians.
One of the candidates, Funke Olaonipekun said “I have no doubt in my mind that I will be one of the successful candidates as the whole process from applying to the screening session have been fair and transparent.”
On his part, Uchechukwu Michael Ginika, who said he was applying for a doctoral degree programme at the University of Strasbourg, France, lauded the PTDF for investing in education of Nigerians.