By John Shiklam in Kaduna
The College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna is to fully take off by June or July 2025.
The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Development Technology Trust Fund (PTDF), Ahmed Galadima Aminu, disclosed this on Monday in Kaduna during a tour of facilities at the college by student union leaders, led by Sunday Asefon, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement.
“Give or take, we are looking at June or July. Things will start happening here,” Ahmed said in an interview with journalists shortly after the tour.
Speaking earlier, he noted that the college was established in 2009, but due to paucity of funds and a number of other reasons, it could not be completed in time.
He also attributed the delay in the full takeoff of the collage to the need to finalize the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the partners.
He said the focus now is to utilize the college for the PTDF to domesticate its trainings that are being done abroad.
“We have been engaging with our foreign partners. Late last year, we were able to sign an MoU with three universities in the UK so that we can mount the programmes with them here, “he said.
According to him, domesticating training programmes will save foreign exchange and cost for the government, while more people will be trained as the cost would be reduced substantially.
“We are saving foreign exchange and cost for the government. We will train more people because the cost is going to reduce substantially.
“It is our expectations to commence programmes hopefully this year.
“Students will spend two years for master’s programmes and one year abroad for the PhD. programmes to get a certificate that is competitive across the world.
“Additionally, we have also been working with the NNPC so that all their oil and gas training programmes for personnel would be handled by the college.
“We have another centre in Portharcourt with excellent facilities that is competitive with anywhere in the world, though not as massive as the one in Kaduna because of space.
“We are working with our partners to make sure the centre becomes functional before the end of the year,” he said
He said the PTDF has been promoting research across Nigerian universities through endowed chairs to address problems in communities and in the gas and oil sector.
Ahmed explained that the visit of the students’ union leaders was to show them what was on the ground.
“We came with the students’ union leaders to show them what we have on the ground at this facility…
“It is a vehicle of the PTDF towards domesticating our programmes in line with our mandate of building capacity of Nigerians for the oil and gas industry.
As you may be aware, our mandate is to train Nigerians to fit into the oil and gas industry.
“We have a number of programmes that include scholarships to Nigerian students both within and outside the country.
“We feel it is the right time to domesticate the training by bringing Nigerians to this facility so that they can get certificates that are competitive over the world.
Ahmed said the PTDF has upgraded
26 departments in Nigerian universities that offer oil and gas related courses to boost local capacity in the sector.
He said the upgraded entails new buildings, equipment, furnishings, power supply, water, library, classrooms, laboratories, and offices.
“We have upgraded the department of chemical engineering, ABU Zaria, Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Ibadan, Gas Department, University of Portharcourt, Department of Geology, University of Maiduguru, Department of Chemistry, Usman Danfodio University and currently ongoing, we are upgrading six departments in six universities across the six geopolitical zones.
“They include the federal university Gusau – Mining and geology; Federal University of Lafia- Physics; Federal University Gashua
In his remarks after the tour, Sunday Asefon, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement, expressed confidence in the PTDF’s ability to deliver a world-class institution.
“With what is on ground here, I am confident that the PTDF has done Nigeria good. I am sure that the President will give a thumbs up to the Executive Secretary for the massive project on ground here,” he said
