The Petroleum Technology Development Fund has warned beneficiaries of its overseas scholarship against absconding, stressing that the programme is not a route to permanent relocation abroad.
- +PTDF warns scholars against ‘Japa’, screens 743 candidates
The warning came as the Fund screened 743 candidates shortlisted from the South-South for the 2026/2027 overseas scholarship.
The warning came as the Fund screened 743 candidates shortlisted from the South-South for the 2026/2027 overseas scholarship.
The exercise, held at the PTDF Centre for Skills Development and Training in Iguruta, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, is part of the selection process for the award.
Speaking with journalists on Thursday, a Deputy Manager at PTDF and Team Lead, Port Harcourt Centre, Peter Egheneji, said candidates are required to sign a bond to return to Nigeria after their studies.
“When you are qualified for the scholarship, you sign a bond with the Fund that after the program, you are going to come back.
“So you actually don’t have that latitude to decide that you are not going to come back because you have signed a bond before the scholarship was awarded,” he said.
Egheneji said the screening is being conducted simultaneously across the six geopolitical zones, adding that the South-South batch comprises 503 Master’s and 240 PhD candidates.
He explained that applicants were shortlisted based on academic performance, including O-level results, first degrees, and research proposals.
A member of the screening panel, Prof. Godwin Chukwu, said the process also assesses how candidates’ academic backgrounds align with the needs of the sector.
“We have different criteria. We look at what the student has done at the undergraduate level, how the student can interface that particular background and knowledge to doing a Masters in an area that will be beneficial in the oil and gas operations in Nigeria,” Chukwu stated.
Chukwu noted that the exercise, which began on Tuesday, would end next week, adding that candidates’ performances had been impressive.
Some applicants who spoke with The PUNCH described the process as smooth and pledged to contribute to the development of the sector if selected.
