Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has begun interviews for 2,102 candidates shortlisted for its Overseas Scholarship Scheme (OSS) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s oil, gas and wider energy workforce.
The interviews, which commenced on Monday at the PTDF headquarters in Abuja, form part of the Fund’s long-term strategy to build high-level human capital by sponsoring advanced research in petroleum technology, engineering, geosciences, energy economics and related fields.
By placing scholars in selected international and local institutions, the programme is designed to expose beneficiaries to cutting-edge research while ensuring that expertise gained is ultimately deployed to support Nigeria’s energy transition and industrial development.
Speaking during the exercise, the Deputy General Manager, Education and Training at PTDF, Dr Bello Mustapha, said the PhD interviews followed the successful conclusion of interviews for Master’s degree candidates held last week across four centres nationwide.
According to him, 2,102 applicants are being interviewed nationwide, with 912 candidates scheduled in Abuja over five days.
He clarified that the final number of successful candidates would depend on available budgetary provisions and management decisions.
Mustapha explained that any candidate who is selected but unable to commence the programme would be replaced by the next best-performing candidate from the same state, in line with established guidelines.
On study destinations, he clarified that while Master’s students are still being sponsored to the United Kingdom (UK), PhD training has largely been domesticated through a split-site arrangement.
"We now run our PhD programmes through partnerships where scholars spend one year in the UK and two years in Nigeria," he said, adding that PTDF also partners with institutions in Malaysia, Germany and France.
One of the interview panelists, Prof Bashir Aliyu of Modibo Adama University, Yola, described the overall quality of candidates as high.
Aliyu revealed that assessors focus on originality, relevance to national needs and the potential for innovation and patenting.
He said candidates were evaluated based on the quality of their research proposals, previous academic work, publications and professional affiliations, stressing that many proposals were closely aligned with current industry challenges.
Among the applicants, chemical engineer Tanko Fwadwabea said his proposed research focuses on process simulation for blue hydrogen production, with the aim of reducing emissions while adding value to Nigeria’s natural gas resources.
Another candidate, geoscientist Jonathan Jonah, said the scholarship would massively ease the financial burden of his research and enable him to contribute more effectively to national development.
Officials from the Federal Character Commission (FCC) were also present to monitor the interviews.
An FCC representative, John Imeji, said preliminary observations indicated that the PTDF had complied with federal character principles, ensuring transparency and equitable representation across gender, ethnicity and regions.
"Our effort here is to ensure that what they are doing reflects the character of the country and there will be no cry or hue from any angle at all and to ensure that there is transparency. (We are good) as long as there is transparency and then nobody is short-changed either gender-wise or tribe-wise or zone-wise and so on," he said.