The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, led a high-level delegation of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) on a collaborative visit to Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Malaysia, as part of ongoing College of Petroleum and Energy Studies Kaduna (CPESK) collaborative initiative and efforts to strengthen human capacity development in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Members of the delegation includes the Executive Secretary of PTDF, Mr. Ahmed Galadima Aminu, and the Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Learning Academy, Mrs. Folashade Adekeye, alongside other senior officials.
The delegation was warmly received by the UTP management team, led by the Provost, Prof. Dr. Benjamin Colin Cosh, who celebrated the existing relationship between the University and the Fund. He further expressed the institution's willingness to partner with PTDF in broadening the programme offerings at the CPESK. He noted that the UTP is committed to sharing best practices in academic excellence, institutional development, and industry-driven education to support sustainable growth in the energy sector.
The visit aims to strengthen collaboration with UTP in critical areas, including institutional processes and systems, postgraduate education, career progression frameworks, continuing professional development programmes, and talent management for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The engagement provides an opportunity for the delegation to interact closely with Malaysia’s educational and institutional systems, benchmark global best practices, and explore how these can be adapted to support PTDF’s purpose-built institution, the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna (CPESK).
Speaking during the visit, the Honourable Minister emphasizes the strategic importance of the initiative, stating that "our scholars represent the future of Nigeria’s energy sector. This visit underscores the Federal Government’s unwavering commitment to investing in human capital and leveraging strategic international partnerships to build a resilient and globally competitive energy workforce.”
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of PTDF, Mr. Ahmed Galadima Aminu, noted that the Fund aims at deepening collaboration with PETRONAS and Malaysian institutions in training delivery, research collaboration, and technology transfer.
The visit further reaffirms the strong bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Malaysia, and highlights PTDF’s continued drive in developing world-class institutions in Nigeria through strategic global partnerships.
