PTDF
By Michael Eboh
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, yesterday, called for research and the development of projects that would positively impact the Nigerian oil and gas industry and the global petroleum industry.
Speaking at the documentation exercise of Local Scholarship Scheme, LSS, awardees, Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Dr. Bello Gusau, said the PTDF is committed to the development of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, especially in the area of boosting capacity and bridging manpower skills’ gap in the sector.
Gusau, who was represented by Manager, Education and Training of the PTDF, Mrs. Rabi’ah Waziri-Adamu, urged the awardees to undertake research that would create jobs and contribute to efforts by the Federal Government to reduce unemployment.
He said: “Awardees should conduct research that would make them employers of labour rather than job-seekers. That way, the petroleum industry would be positively impacted.
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“The Local Scholarship Scheme is the present and future of the PTDF. Over the years, the number of awardees in our Overseas Scholarship Scheme, OSS, is dropping lower in comparison to the LSS, which is in line with its drive towards domestication of the scheme. Like the OSS, the LSS is designed to meet the manpower skills gap in the petroleum industry.”
Gusau added that currently, 710 undergraduate scholars were selected in the Local Scholarship Scheme; 546 Masters’ candidates and 179 PhD, noting, however, that only scholars who had admission were invited for the documentation.
He noted that the PTDF had confidence in the abilities of the awardees, due to the high intellect they had displayed all along the process, while he expressed optimism that the research to be undertaken by the awardees would change the fortunes of the oil and gas industry.
He urged the awardees to inform the PTDF whenever their research leads to an invention, noting that the fund would assist them in registering and securing patents for the invention.
Vanguard
