The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), on Thursday, screened 931 candidates from the South-West zone for its 2025 /2026 overseas scholarship scheme.
The leader of the team from PTDF, Masud Mohamed, told newsmen at the Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Ibadan, that it was part of the organisation’s annual initiative to build human capacity for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Mohamed noted that 749 candidates were screened last week for the Master’s category, with the interviews scheduled in both morning and afternoon sessions over five days, stating that 182 candidates have been screened for doctoral degrees in fields relevant to the petroleum sector.
Mohamed, the Manager of the College of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna (CPESK) under the PTDF, stated that the scholarship scheme is in fulfilment of one of its mandates, noting that it remains 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 has produced scholars who are making valuable contributions to society.”
He stated further that the screening exercise 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. The participating candidates lauded the PTDF for investing in the education of Nigerians and thus contributing to the future of the most populous black nation on earth.
