Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

PTDF trains 185 Nigerians to boost local content in oil industry

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
19 September 2017   |   3:47 am
The PTDF boss hinted that the selection of the scholars was based on performance in the aptitude test, the oral interviews and classes of degree and chosen programmes for their programmes.

Executive Secretary of PTDF, Bello Gusau, said the scholarship scheme was a deliberate policy of the Federal Government to boost local capacity in the oil and gas industry.

The Petroleum Technology Dev/elopment Fund (PTDF) has offered doctorate degree scholarships in foreign universities to 185 Nigerian oil and gas experts with a view to boosting indigenous capacity in the sector.

Speaking at the induction ceremony for the scholars, the Executive Secretary of PTDF, Bello Gusau, said the scholarship scheme was a deliberate policy of the Federal Government to boost local capacity in the oil and gas industry.

The PTDF boss hinted that the selection of the scholars was based on performance in the aptitude test, the oral interviews and classes of degree and chosen programmes for their programmes.

He said the oil producing states have six candidates, while non-oil producing states have five each. Gusau also explained that PTDF was not set-up to place trainees on projects and jobs, but an agency to build capacity in the oil and gas sector.

He, therefore, charged the scholars to work hard to justify the opportunity afforded them. “All of you that made it to this point are here because you deserve to be here, PTDF is not a scholarship board, but an institution created to ensure that the oil and Gas sector have all it takes to bring about growth and development in the country.

The PTDF boss said the Fund is not worried by lack of job placement of the scholars, saying, “Placing scholars on jobs is not part of the PTDF mandate.” Gusau pledged regular payment of scholars’ upkeeps while schooling abroad.

He said: “We have been paying scholars’ allowances for more than one decade. It is a practice that the PTDF has been engaging in for a long time and the plan is to continue in that light. So far, I can say that the PTDF is unarguably the best in the country.”

0 Comments