By Oscarline Onwuemenyi
ABUJA -THE Petroleum Technology Development Fund has announced that it has received an approval of about N15 billion for the upgrade of facilities at the 16-year-old National College of Petroleum Studies in Kaduna, Kaduna State.
The Federal Executive Council had recently approved the sum for contract awards by the PTDF for the project, which upon completion would be renamed as the Institute for Petroleum Policy and Strategy.
*Oil refinery.
The Executive Secretary of PTDF, Engr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma, noted in a release on Friday signed by the Head, Press and External Relations in the PTDF, Mr. Kalu Otisi, that the project when completed will become the flagship institution for training senior management personnel in the industry to become general management staff. He said, “This institute would represent to the industry what the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies is to the public service and the National Defence College to the military.”
Darma further disclosed that the upgrade of the college, originally established by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in 1992, would involve equipping it with relevant facilities, including a world-class laboratory for analytical work and research in oil as gas.
The PTDF boss who had earlier visited the Governor of Kaduna State, Arc. Mohammed Nemadi Sambo, to seek his support for the project, equally appealed for the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for the 90 hectares of land provided by the state for the project.
Meanwhile, a target of 97 weeks from July 1, 2009 has been set for the completion and commissioning of the project to upgrade the National College of Petroleum Studies.
Darma noted at the signing of consultanty agreements for the supervision of the project by selected consultants, that the deadline was derived from the work plan submitted by the contractors considered for the award of contracts for the project.
He urged the consultants to apply professional skills to ensure that the project is delivered on time and in good quality.
Darma gave assurance that the Fund would not delay in paying contractors as and when certificates are raised having regard to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
The formal contract signing event for the project would be held at the project location in Kaduna on Tuesday (today), after which the foundation stone for the upgrade project would be laid to flag off construction work on the project.
The statement further noted that the Petroleum Technology Development Fund has so far spent about N17 billion in the educational, organizational and infrastructural upgrade of the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Warri for enhanced training of middle-level manpower for the industry.
Hajara, I am sure if you can check in ur class or UK, you will see alot of yorubas and ndigbos too, bcos PTDF scholarship is awarded based on zoning, with atleast to beneficiaries from each state.
President enough is enough baba due process of law.
Pretenders do the worst.Tread genlty .Choose the path of righteousness.
Esther
I am using this medium to tell the president to withdraw his troops from the Gbaramatu Kingdom.
The president has not got any legal right to stop the people from going back to their legitimate home.
JTF you have outlived your stay in the ND area of Nigeria.
You are no relevant to the peace and security of the area.
Mr. President,it is high time you retrace your steps or fall into a deep pit.
Adjoa
Aisha
You can go ahead and tell the president to build a maritime academy/shipbuilding yard in ABUJA.
Adjoa
This is Nigeria for you. The owner gnaws at the bones and the “stranger” eats the meat. Ha! haa!!! But the “owner” would rather have it like this than the other way round because he is eaten up with HATRED of his next-door neighbour. More grease to your elbows!
their is no need to spend such money upgrading national college for petroleum studies in kaduna when the upgrade at the petroleum training institute effurun is almost turning into an abadon project.
This is a great development, we can have more research in the country. Kaduna is a good and strategic location, because it is easy accessible from all applicant across the nation. Long live Fed. Rep of Nigeria.
This doesn’t make any sense what so ever.
Chukwuemeka stop being so rude please! I have not insulted any one. its because of people who think like you that Nigeria will not move forward, we claim to be one Nigeria and here you are telling me to go and drink kunu and let a fly kiss my cup. again minds like yours will never rule the country as you’re not thinking of the greater good but how only the east will benefit. look at the bigger picture! In the next 5 years or less there will be no need for oil and then what???
OGBENI.. I understand what ure saying about all these places being in the north. but can u still not see that the north is the most backward region. You need to understand that God is a just God and will not favour one set of people.
At OJ.. how many northerners go to school?? if you like give them free education they still won’t go. The groundnut pyramids I agree your people did not get anything from. But why focus on the past rather than look into the future. The region has been given 13%. what more can they ask for seriously? Lets not be greedy. there you have it again another tribalistic statement.. “long live the south”…. what should happen to the east and the north??.
I understand that building the institution in the north is very selfish seeing as the north does not produce any oil. But lets not just shoot it down there may be strategic reasons (which I can’t see ) but let’s give the benefit of the doubt and shoot it down when they only admit northerners.
You fail to realise that even we have a free and fair election and each region should vote for their own the north will win???
I applied for a PTF scholarship and was told that the PTF does not award scholarship to law graduates. My family saved up money and borrowed some money from the bank to help pay for my post graduate studies here in the UK and guess what? There are a lot of Hausa people in my class and in several universities in the UK studying petroleum law like myself and they are on PTF scholarships. Some of them are here with their wives who are also on scholarship too. That is one Nigeria for us!