THE Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) on Tuesday, announced that over N1 billion had been transfered to its account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), following the Federal Government’s directive on the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
It later announced its plan to organise an annual retreat/interactive session for all the Endowment Management Committee (EMC) members early next year, with a view to refocusing the research areas of chair occupants.
The acting Executive Secretary of the agency, Ahmed Galadima Aminu, announced this during the meeting with the National Board of Trustees on endowment fund programme.
Aminu, who said the programme was borne out of the strong need for PTDF to develop indigenous manpower and technology through the effective engagement of local researchers in tertiary institutions, then frowned that the meeting which ought to have been holding twice in a year, was last held five years ago.
He stressed further that the programme was to encourage and develop large scale inter-disciplinary teaching and research programme in oil and gas technology, as well as to serve as a link between government and the universities in specific areas of study and research.
According to him, the major prerequisite for the endowment fund is the executive of trust deeds between the fund and the universities. The deed states the conditions for which the endowment was established and the specific purpose and course the professorial chair was to cover.
“The chairs were to be funded from the proceeds of the invested seed monies. The EMC was constituted to supervise the activities of the chair occupants in order to achieve set goals of the specific research areas. The professorial chairs in the universities were established to conduct research on methods and equipment for exploiting Nigeria`s enormous oil and gas resources,” he explained.
On the retreat, the acting secretary said the forum would serve to enhance research content, funds and administration for all chair holders, pointing out that all the chair occupants were to submit comprehensive reports on work plans, achievement and challenges in their respective areas to the fund, to board of trustees to scrutinize them.
The meeting was attended by the Vice-Chancellors of eight universities, who were also the chair occupants of those institutions. They were University of Ibadan; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Port Harcourt; University of Maiduguri; Ahmadu Bello University; University of Jos; University of Benin, as well as Usman Danfodio University and other stakeholders.