The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has screened 931 candidates from Nigeria’s South-West region for its overseas scholarship program. The exercise, which took place at the Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, University of Ibadan, is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to boost indigenous expertise in the oil and gas sector. According to Masud Mohamed, PTDF team lead for the South-West and Manager at the College of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna, 749 of the applicants were seeking Master’s scholarships, while 182 were doctoral hopefuls.
The screening process, which was divided into morning and afternoon sessions over a five-day period, was open only to those applying for courses relevant to the oil and gas industry. Mohamed emphasized that the initiative remains a strategic tool in bridging the national skills gap and aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for human capacity development. “This is one of PTDF’s core mandates – to build capacity in the oil and gas industry through training and development,” Mohamed said.
The PTDF scholarship scheme has produced scholars who have contributed significantly to the sector. The agency has set up six centers across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to decentralize the exercise and ensure wider access. Candidates who underwent the screening process expressed hope for success, praising the fairness and transparency of the exercise. “I believe I’ll be among the selected,” said Funke Olaonipekun, one of the candidates.
Another candidate, Uchechukwu Ginika, applying for a PhD program at the University of Strasbourg, France, lauded PTDF’s efforts, describing the initiative as a great investment in the future of the country. The PTDF scholarship scheme has been a vital pipeline for grooming skilled Nigerian professionals in the global energy sector. With this latest screening exercise, the agency is one step closer to achieving its goal of developing indigenous expertise in the oil and gas industry.
The PTDF’s efforts to build capacity in the oil and gas sector are commendable, and the agency’s commitment to decentralizing the screening process has ensured wider access for candidates from across the country. As the selected candidates embark on their scholarship programs, they are expected to contribute significantly to the development of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
