President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been commended for giving provisional license for the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna (CPESK) to operate as a private postgraduate university.
Governor Uba Sani praised the president when the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Ahmad Galadima Aminu, paid him a courtesy call on Monday.
The Governor further disclosed that President Tinubu has accepted to commission the college later this month.
He not only assured the Executive Secretary and his management of his support to make the commissioning a huge success, also asked PTDF to approach Kaduna State “for any assistance required to ensure the smooth running of this important institution.”
“We cannot make progress in a fast changing and complex society if we fail to develop local capacity. This College, if well supported, has the potential of developing local manpower that will change the face of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry,’’ he added.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary said that he and his team came to Sir Kashim Ibrahim House to brief the Governor on the progress that has been achieved for the take off of the college.
Ahmad Galadima disclosed that the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna will admit its first cohort of PhD students in September 2025.
‘’A total of 3,702 applications was received by the PTDF for the Split-Site PhD Programme. Currently, screening and interviews are ongoing, and successful candidates will soon be admitted into five faculties,’’ he added.
The Executive Secretary listed the Faculty of Computing and Telecommunications Technology, Faculty of Earth and Applied Sciences, as well as Faculty of Energy Law and Management Sciences, as the faculties that will commence operation.
According to him, the College has been licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as a private postgraduate institution that will offer 19 academic programmes across six departments and three faculties.
Ahmad Galadima further pointed out that PTDF has signed strategic partnerships with three UK universities with University of Strathclyde, Robert Gordon University and University of Portsmouth.
‘’These partnerships will support the delivery of a split-site postgraduate studies, where students will primarily study at CPESK here in Kaduna, with short academic stays at the partner universities in the United Kingdom,’’ he added.
The Executive Secretary recalled that PTDF commenced the establishment of the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna (CPESK) in 2009, to train senior technical, managerial, and executive personnel for Nigeria’s energy sector.
