The Petroleum Development Technology Trust Fund (PTDF) has upgraded 26 departments in Nigerian universities to boost local capacity in the oil and gas sector......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the PTDF, Ahmed Galadima Aminu, disclosed this while speaking to journalists after a facility tour of the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna.
THE WHISTLER reports that the Executive Secretary led the management of the PTDF while Sunday Asefon, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement, the leadership of the National Association of the Nigerian Students, Niger Delta Students on a fact-finding tour of facilities in the college.
Aminu said the upgraded departments are spread across 26 Nigerian universities and include departments of chemical engineering, petroleum engineering, gas engineering, geology, and chemistry.
He listed some of the beneficiary universities as The Ahmadu Bello University(ABU), Zaria; University of Ibadan; University of Port-Harcourt; University of Maiduguri; and Usman Dan Fodio University.
Aminu also revealed that the PTDF was currently upgrading six additional departments in six universities across the six geo-political zones.
He explained that the upgrade process involved not just new buildings, but also equipping them with IT, furnishings, solar power, water, libraries, classrooms, and offices.
He added that the PTDF has partnered with three United Kingdom universities to offer PhD programs in oil and gas-related fields, as part of efforts to build local capacity in the sector.
“The three universities are the University of Portsmouth; University of Strathclyde; and Robert Gordon University,” he said
The partnership, which was signed last year, he said, would see students split their residency period between Nigeria and the UK, with the ultimate goal of obtaining an internationally recognized certificate.
According to him, the partnership is aimed at reducing costs, saving foreign exchange, and training more Nigerians.
“We feel it’s the right time to domesticate our programs, bring Nigerians to this place, train them so that they can get certificates that are competitive around the world,” he said.
The PTDF boss also attributed the delay in the full takeoff of the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies to the need to finalize the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the organization’s partners.
He also expressed optimism that the commissioning of the college would take place by June or July this year, adding that the PTDF’s efforts are aimed at building a stronger, more skilled workforce for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He said, “Our mandate is building capacity in the oils and gas industry. We have scholarship programmes and we also have institutional upgrades.
“Upgrading entails new building, equipping it, bringing IT, furnishing, solar, water library, classroom, offices. This is a component of the upgrade.
“What’s delaying the full take off of this institution? This MoU which we signed last year with our partners, we need to have everything in place before the take off of the school before the commissioning.”
“So, give and take, we are looking at the middle of this year – June or July, certainly things we start happening here (commissioning).”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) commended the PTDF for its efforts in establishing the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna.
Hon. Comr. Sunday Asefon, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement, who led a fact-finding mission to the college, expressed his confidence in the PTDF’s ability to deliver a world-class institution.
“With what is on ground here, I am confident that the PTDF has done Nigeria good. I am sure that the President will give a thumbs up to the Executive Secretary for the massive project on ground here,” he said
Asefon hailed the Executive Secretary of the PTDF for his role in the establishment of the college, noting that he was part of the foundation and is now at the helm of affairs.
“We want to commend him. We want to appreciate him. I am appreciating the Executive Secretary because he was part of the foundation of this edifice and the structure of this college. Today, he is now the ES. Imagine that he had been here at the foundation level and now at the completion level when the college will be commissioned.”
Asefon also commended Governor Uba Sani for his efforts in securing Kaduna State, making it a safe haven for students.
“About three years ago, Kaduna was a no-go area. People were not willing to come to the state. But today, a governor has come on board, and those things have come to pass,” Asefon said. “Automatically, with the maximum security in Kaduna State, this will give any parent who is sending his or her child a rest of mind to study.”