The Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Mr. Ahmed Galadima Aminu, on Thursday 21st August, 2025, led his management team on a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, FCVSN, where he expressed appreciation to the Commission for granting its College of Petroleum and Energy Studies (CPESK), Kaduna, license to operate as Postgraduate University.
In his speech, Mr. Aminu, who was visibly elated, thanked the NUC for the consistent support that it had always extended to the PTDF, stating that with the approval, CPESK is now ready to run postgraduate programmes across three faculties and broken down into six departments with 19 courses.
According to him, the PTDF has just concluded screening of applications and successful candidates who will soon be admitted into the three faculties of: Computing and Telecommunication Technology; Earth and Applied Sciences as well as Energy Law and Management Sciences. The College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna will begin with its first cohort of PhD students this September 2025.
He reaffirmed the PTDF’s commitment to promoting academic excellence, noting that the Fund has developed human capacity through various training programmes both nationally and internationally.
The PTDF Executive Secretary announced that the postgraduate programme is a partnership project with three leading universities in the United Kingdom, to establish a split-site Ph.D Programme at CPESK, in line with the NUC’s Transnational Education (TNE) Policy.
The three Uk Universities are: University of Strathclyde; Robert Gordon University and University of Portsmouth, explaining further that these partnerships will support the delivery of a split-site postgraduate model, where students will primarily study at CPESK in Kaduna, with short academic stays at the partner universities in the United Kingdom.
Also on the academic licencing and partnerships, Mr. Aminu told the Executive Secretary NUC that the PTDF has also partnered with NNPC Limited, through the NNPC Academy, to deliver: Continuing Professional Development, Career Progression Training, Talent Management as well as Technical and Vocational Training (TVT).
He also gave an overview of PTDF and its mandate, which he highlighted was established by Act No. 25 of 1973 and later amended in 1999, to build human and institutional capacity for Nigeria’s oil, gas, and energy sectors.
The PTDF Boss explained that part of the Fund’s core mandate includes human capacity development through sponsorships, trainings, supporting research, and developing institutional capacity to serve the needs of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He informed Professor Ribadu that the Establishment of CPESK, was in line with its objective to offer post graduate studies, train senior technical, managerial, and executive personnel for Nigeria’s energy sector, adding that the College is situated on 86 hectares of land and is designed to support academic activities, research, and related activities.
Mr. Aminu disclosed that some of the Key Infrastructure and Facilities available at the CPESK campus includes:
- Three academic wings: Management Wing, Technology Wing, and Graduate Wing;
- Residential facilities including 2 blocks of 5-bedroom duplexes, 13 units of 4-bedroom bungalows, 26 units of 3-bedroom bungalows, 12 blocks of 2-bedroom flats, and 216 hostel rooms;
- An International Conference Centre with 240 guest rooms, 500-seat auditorium, shopping arcade, and training rooms; Sports facilities, mosque, and chapel; and
- A state-of-the-art library and fibre-optic digital infrastructure to support e-learning.
He acknowledged the very important role of the NUC and guidance in the development of the academic brief and master plan for CPESK, which has also ensured alignment with national and international standards for postgraduate education.
The PTDF Executive Secretary also mentioned that the NUC’s rigorous evaluation and quality assurance processes have provided a solid foundation for CPESK to emerge as a world-class institution dedicated to advancing research and training in the energy sector.
He used the forum to thank the NUC Management for its invaluable support of PTDF’s mandate and for its partnership in making CPESK a reality, expressing his keen interest to deepening this collaboration in order to build a world-class centre of excellence for Nigeria’s energy sector.
Responding, the Executive Secretary, NUC, Professor Ribadu acknowledged the leadership role of the PTDF boss and expressed appreciation to the team for finding time to visit the Commission on such a very important programme.
He also commended them for partnerships they are forging with the NUC, by recognizing its regulatory authorities as the agency responsible for university education in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary congratulated the PTDF on the establishment of their postgraduate university, which is offering Masters and Ph.d programmes and for training of about 10,000 students abroad for Masters and PhD Programmes.
He recalled that the University was licenced in 2023, with the expectation that it will be a Centre of Excellence for Petroleum and Gas, noting that the postgraduate university is already living it out.
He pledged the assistance and commitment of the Commission to ensuring that the programme with the UK universities were run effectively to the benefit of the students and the country.
Professor Ribadu also told the team that NUC was very elated about the TNE model as that had been at the frontline of the Commission’s activities in recent time with its approval of a guideline for this kind of initiative, describing it as a welcome development.
While thanking the delegation for the visit, he assured them of the NUC’s unwavering commitment to supporting any initiative that would strengthen its quality assurance activities within the Nigerian University System (NUS). He, therefore, stated that the Commission will be readily available to give them any assistance and prayed for their collaborations to continue to grow from strength to strength.
In the PTDF delegation were: Mr. Jide Adebulehin; Mrs. Rabi’ah Umar Waziri-Adamu; Mrs. Munir Zubairu Sirajo; Muh’d Tanimu Ahmad; Mr. Mohammed S. Olowo; Mr Steve Agboyinu; Mr. Paul Ohabuike; Mrs. Dupe Kay-Bella; Mr Aminu Amman; Mr Suleiman Ribadu; Mrs. Hafsat Ibrahim and Mr. Lawal Ibrahim. At the meeting were the NUC Deputy Executive Secretary, (Administration), Mr. Chris J. Maiyaki; Acting Directors of: Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (DSDE), Mal. Ashafa Ladan; Accreditation, (DA), Engr. Abraham Chundusu; Coordinator Special Projects, Dr. Joshua Atah; Open and Distance Learning (DODel), Dr. Funmilayo Morebise; Executive Secretary’s Office (DESO), Mr. Jubril Momoh; Public Affairs (DPA),Mrs. Franca Chukwuonwo as well as the Head, Special Duties in the ES Office, Dr. Abubakar Tanko Mohammed.