PTDF Screens 931 S’ west Candidates for Overseas Scholarship

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

No fewer than 931 candidates from the South-west zone have been screened for the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) overseas scholarship scheme.

The leader of the team from PTDF, Masud Mohamed, who made the disclosure on Thursday while speaking with journalists at the Ibadan centre held at the Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, University of Ibadan, said it was part of its annual initiative to build human capacity for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

According to him, 749 candidates were screened last week for the master’s category, with the interviews scheduled in both morning and afternoon sessions over five days, adding that 182 candidates were screened for doctoral degrees in fields relevant to the petroleum sector.

Mohamed, who is the Manager, College of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna (CPESK) under the PTDF, said the scholarship scheme is in fulfillment of one of its mandates, adding that it remained a deliberate strategy to boost indigenous expertise and bridge the capacity gap in the nation’s oil and gas sector.

He said: “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 stated further that the screening was decentralised, with six centres established nationwide, one per geopolitical zone, to ease participation, maintaining that it aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu in terms of human capacity development of Nigerians.

Some of the candidates, while speaking with journalists, expressed optimism about securing the scholarship, disclosing how they discovered the opportunity and what they intend to achieve with their studies abroad.

One of the candidates, Funke Olaonipekun, said she knew about the opportunity from her friend, adding that though this is her first attempt, she is confident of securing the scholarship because of the transparent nature of the process.

“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 has been fair and transparent,” she said.

On his part, Uchechukwu Michael Ginika, who said he was applying for a doctoral degree at the University of Strasbourg, France, lauded the PTDF for investing in the education of Nigerians and thus contributing to the future of the country.