The Petroleum Know-how Growth Fund (PTDF) has commenced screening and interviews of over 746 candidates shortlisted for MSc and PhD beneath the PTDF 2026/2027 Abroad Scholarship Scheme (OSS) in Rivers State, the South-South zonal centre.
The train which started on April 7, ending on April 17, 2026, came about concurrently throughout the six geo-political zones of Nigeria with varied centres at Abuja (North-central), Bauchi (North-East), Kaduna (North-West), Enugu (South-East), Oyo (South-West) and Rivers (South-South).
Talking in the course of the screening of the MSc candidates Thursday, on the PTDF Centre for Abilities Growth & Coaching, Airport Street, Igwuruta Port Harcourt, a Deputy Supervisor at PTDF and Staff Lead, Port Harcourt Centre, Peter Egheneji stated “We’re having 503 candidates for Grasp’s Diploma and 243 for Ph.D. packages”.
Egheneji who defined that a part of the mandate of the PTDF is to offer scholarship and bursaries for the event of the oil and fuel trade, stated the programme tends to offer assist in type of scholarships for Nigeria’s that qualify within the oil and fuel trade.
He revealed the factors used to shortlist the candidates embrace; their grades on the O’stage, first levels and their proposals. “So, we need to give the most effective alternative to go for the scholarship,” he stated.
One of many panelists on the interview and screening train, Prof. Godwin Chukwu, an affiliate of the College of Port Harcourt Emerald Vitality, said that PTDF is including worth to the nation’s oil and fuel trade as most beneficiaries of the scholarship have turn out to be belongings for the nation.
He stated the train commenced on Tuesday for these making use of for Grasp’s Diploma. “We take a look at what the coed has completed on the undergraduate, how the coed can interface that individual background and information to doing a Masters in an space that will likely be helpful within the oil and fuel operations in Nigeria”.
Prof. Chukwu who can be the Chief Govt Officer of Toncia Vitality Consulting, Abuja, said that “Our job begins with reviewing what we see and recommending to PTDF, and PTDF will take it up from there. Then it’s left for PTDF to determine on what they need. However our advice must be one thing that ought to information them of their ultimate choice.
“You’ll be shocked that we now have some individuals which might be coming from the background of political science, some individuals coming from the background of Regulation, and you may be asking, what are they coming right here to do? These individuals did very, very properly within the course of”.
Different panelists sighted in the course of the screening have been Prof. Tebekeme Koko of the Niger Delta College, Bayelsa, and Dr. Garba Malumfashi, Senior Fellow with Nationwide Institute for Coverage and Strategic Research (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.
A few of the candidates that spoke with journalists after their screening, lauded PTDF for what they described as “easy software course of”, including that there have been no problems with importing their paperwork in the course of the course of.
Ifeoluwa Ajetunmo, who was on the centre for Masters scholarship interview with concentrate on Engineering Administration for Course of Sustenance, stated “I’m going to use the whole lot that I Iearnt to addressing the gaps to host I’ve seen within the oil and fuel trade”.
“I at the moment work in an E & P firm and I’ve seen that there are points that at instances when operations fail it’s not as a result of the gear is failing, or technical incompetence however as a result of there’s poor communication and numerous issues that may be averted.”
On his half, Edet John Uko, Masters on Environmental Engineering, stated “Comparatively trying on the present scenario in Nigeria there’s want for us to have some world concepts on how different international locations are likely to deal with and mitigate environmental points in their very own international locations.
“Gaining such concepts and comparatively going overseas to be taught extra about my subject of research, there isn’t any doubt I would like to review in order that I will comparatively remedy the actual issues such because the waste administration and most significantly the problems of oil exploration, spillage and vandalisation”, Uko added.
Blessing Ibunge
Times Nigeria