Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State gave the commendation during a courtesy visit from the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Ahmad Galadima Aminu, on Monday.
The governor also revealed that President Tinubu has agreed to formally inaugurate the college later this month.
“President Tinubu not only assured the executive secretary and his management of his support to make the commissioning a huge success, but also asked PTDF to approach Kaduna State for any assistance required to ensure the smooth running of this important institution.”
He added, ”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.”
Earlier, the executive secretary said he and his team had visited Sir Kashim Ibrahim House to update the governor on the preparations made for the launch of the college.
Galadima disclosed that the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna, would welcome its first group of PhD students in September 2025.
“A total of 3,702 applications were 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 said.
He named the Faculty of Computing and Telecommunications Technology, the Faculty of Earth and Applied Sciences, and the Faculty of Energy Law and Management Sciences as those scheduled to begin operations.
According to him, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted the college a licence to operate as a private postgraduate institution, offering 19 academic programmes within six departments and three faculties.
Galadima also mentioned that PTDF had signed strategic agreements with three UK-based institutions: the University of Strathclyde, Robert Gordon University, and the University of Portsmouth.
“These partnerships will support the delivery of 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 began establishing the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna (CPESK), in 2009, to train senior technical, managerial, and executive personnel for Nigeria’s energy industry.
