PTDF programmes excite institutions, students

Students of the tertiary institutions in Akwa Ibom State have praised the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for designing programmes that meet the long-term human capacity in the oil and gas industry.

The programmes include education and training of Nigerians (in-country and overseas) in relevant fields like engineering, geological sciences, environmental studies, management, ICT, and health and safety.

Head of the Overseas Scholarship Scheme (OSS), PTDF, Mrs. Bolanle Kehinde-Agboola, narrated that the programme was established by Act No. 25 of 1973, which replaced the Gulf Oil Company Training Fund Administration Act, 1964.

According to her, PTDF inherited all assets and responsibilities from the defunct Gulf Oil Company Training Fund, adding that it was created to provide training and education for Nigerians in the petroleum industry.

Agboola stated that 8,196 Nigerians have benefited from the combined Overseas and In-Country Scholarship Schemes.

“PTDF is designed to meet the long-term human capability requirements of the oil and gas industry through education and training of Nigerians (in-country and overseas) in relevant fields such as: engineering, geological sciences, environmental studies, management, ICT, and health and safety.

“Total beneficiaries from the combined recipients of Overseas and In-Country Scholarship Schemes are 8,196,” she said.

She added that the scheme absorbs those who have SSCE with five credits, including English and Mathematics, and for those pursuing master’s degrees, the scheme is open for those with 2.1 or 2.2 with industry experience.

The scheme, she noted, also sponsors research across various universities in the country.

She added: “We are here today to sensitise the students of the University of Uyo on the activities of PTDF. It is a government agency under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to discharge the responsibilities of developing capacity for the oil and gas industry.

“PTDF does this in three ways: One is research and development; we have institutional capacity building, city building, and human capital development. Under the human capital development, we have programmes that PTDF have developed. One of them is PTDF in which most of the students are interested in.

“The purpose of that scholarship is to develop students in oil and gas-related areas to ensure that they have knowledge transfer from different institutions across the world.

Agboola, however, decried the situation where most of those who had been abroad were retained in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Canada over complaints of a lack of employment in oil and gas companies in Nigeria.

This is as it has commenced collaborations with the oil and gas industries in Nigeria, aimed at ensuring that students, especially those trained through its scholarship scheme outside the country, are employed in key positions in the companies.

Agboola, revealed this in her keynote address tagged, “The Role and Impact of PTDF on Nigerian Students/Youths and our Institutions,” during a one-day PTDF students sensitisation/capacity building program held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital on Thursday.

“We also have to harness our alumni, we have a lot of them scattered all over the world, how do we harness them for our own benefit and also improving recruitment and number of scholars of our product in the oil and gas industry, this is the major problem for us.

“We have trained over 8000 students and some of them after the training remain over there, all our investments are retained in US, UK, Canada, and more.

“Also, there is a complaint that when they come back to Nigeria, they don’t get a job, and they are finding it difficult to be absorbed in the oil and gas industry. Therefore, we need to create more cooperation and partnership with the oil and gas industry,” Agboola said.

Sunday Adedayo Asefon, the Senior Special Assistant on Students’ Engagement to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said what students needed was access to knowledge, access to mentorship, and access to opportunities.

He noted that the oil and gas sector was no longer a space for only technical experts. It demanded a multi-disciplinary approach—involving engineers, policy analysts, digital innovators, environmental scientists, legal minds, and even community mobilizers. Our youth and students must be equipped with the tools not only to participate in this space but to innovate within it.

Asefon said, “The role of PTDF in supporting capacity building cannot be overstated. Through initiatives like scholarships, training programs, and partnerships with academic institutions, PTDF is helping to lay the foundation for a new generation of Nigerian professionals who will bring excellence, transparency, and sustainability to this sector and Nigeria at large.