The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has begun screening 200 candidates from the South-South region for its 2025/2026 overseas postgraduate scholarship programme. Mr Ere Iyalla, Team Lead of the Overseas Scholarship Interview Programme at the Port Harcourt centre, disclosed this to journalists on Wednesday.
He spoke during the Ph.D interview session held at the Petroleum Trust Fund Skills and Training Centre, Omagwa, Rivers.
Iyalla said the programme aligned with the Federal Government’s agenda to develop local content in the oil and gas sector.
Iyalla mentioned that PTDF had trained over 16,000 Nigerians abroad through its overseas scholarship programme, noting that the impact had been felt in the oil and gas industry.
According to him, the programme is a split-site Ph.D. programme for candidates going to the UK, where part of the programme will be completed in Nigeria and part in the UK.
Iyalla assured that the programme was transparent and that the outcome would be based on merit.
We utilise information technology to ensure that the products of this exercise meet the highest quality standards.
According to him, the PTDF has partnerships with universities in the UK, Germany, France, and Malaysia, saying that the scholarship programme was designed to meet the current and future needs of the oil and gas industry globally.
Similarly, Prof. Sunday Ikiensikimama, Director of the Institute of Petroleum and Energy Studies at the University of Port Harcourt, stated that the interview process had been smooth and efficient.
Ikiensikimama expressed satisfaction with the responses from the candidates, noting that most of them were articulate and effectively conveyed their research interests.
The professor noted that the PTDF had made significant improvements in the interview process, including the use of a new centre building that had made the process more comfortable for the panellists.
He also mentioned that the panel might make further recommendations to improve the system.
Dr Hassan Bashir, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Bayero University, said that the performance of candidates had been satisfactory, with noticeable improvement compared to previous years.
Bashir, one of the panellists under the computing group, said that the assessment results were real-time, but were not the overall results, as candidates from different regions would be ranked together for the final selection.
He expressed optimism that the scholarship programme would yield positive results, improving the nation’s research quality and industrial production.
Another candidate, Sharon January, an environmental law specialist, described the application and interview process as “simple” and “interesting.”
She commended PTDF for the friendliness and the opportunity to discuss her research proposal.
January said that her research proposal focused on corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) accountability and the right to a sustainable environment in the Niger Delta region.
January commended the federal government’s efforts towards youth empowerment, emphasising the need for more expertise and passion in governance.
Another candidate, Ibe Chidozie, a Civil Engineer and lecturer, commended PTDF for the significant improvement in the organisation of the 2025/2026 Ph.D. foreign scholarship programme.
Chidozie expressed satisfaction with the process, adding that the questions asked during the interview were centred around his proposal and area of interest.
