From Sola Ojo, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu may launch the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna, by the middle of 2025, the executive secretary and chief executive officer of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Ahmed Galadima Aminu, has said.
According to Aminu, all the necessary structures and other things to make the place fit for the purpose it was set up are in place, except a few which would be fixed in a matter of months.
Aminu spoke with journalists shortly after he led the management of PTDF and the visiting leadership of the National Association of the Nigerian Students (NANS), Niger Delta Students, led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement, Sunday Asefon, on a fact-finding tour of the college.
“What you see on the ground here took a lot of hard work and commitment from the Nigerian government.
“The signing of the memorandum of understanding we signed with our partners in the University of Portsmouth, University of Strathclyde, and Robert Gordon University for PhD courses in the oil and gas sector late last year was part of efforts to make significant progress in the college.
“They are coming here to issue the certificate. So, with a little more effort to put the information and communication technology (ICT) and a few other things in place, we are looking at mid-year to see things happening here.
“So, basically, what is delaying the full take-off of this institution is that the MoU we signed last year with our partners ensured that everything is in place before the take-off of the school. Give and take, we are looking at the middle of this year, June or July”, he said.
Speaking further on the activities of PTDF, he said that to boost local capacity in the oil and gas sector, 26 departments in Nigerian universities, including chemical engineering, petroleum engineering, gas engineering, geology, and chemistry, have been upgraded to competitive standards.
According to him, the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; University of Ibadan; University of Port-Harcourt; University of Maiduguri; and Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, are some of the beneficiaries of the upgrade, adding that similar upgrade was ongoing in six additional departments in six universities across the six geo-political zones.
“The upgrade process involved not just new buildings, but also equipping them with ICT, furnishings, solar power, water, libraries, classrooms, and offices”, he said.
On the partnership with the three foreign universities, he said, the benefitting scholarship students who must be the best in their first degrees, would split their residency period between Nigeria and the UK, with the ultimate goal of obtaining an internationally recognized certificate.
The ES explained that the partnership was aimed at reducing costs, saving foreign exchange, and training more Nigerians as they will spend two years in Nigeria and one year in the UK.
He added: “We feel it’s the right time to domesticate our programmes, bring Nigerians to this place, train them so that they can get certificates that are competitive around the world.”
On his part, Sunday Asefon said he led NANS leadership to the facilities to see for themselves what is on the ground contrary to false narratives in some quarters abinitio.
“With what is on the ground here, I am confident that the PTDF has done Nigeria well. I am sure that the President will give a thumbs up to the executive secretary for the massive project on the ground here,” he said.