President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been commended for granting a provisional license to the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna (CPESK) to operate as a private postgraduate university.

The commendation was issued by Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State when the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Ahmad Galadima Aminu, paid him a courtesy call on Monday.

The governor also disclosed that President Tinubu has agreed to commission 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.”

”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 stated that he and his team visited Sir Kashim Ibrahim House to brief the governor on the progress made for the college’s takeoff.

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 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.

The executive secretary listed the Faculty of Computing and Telecommunications Technology, the Faculty of Earth and Applied Sciences, and the 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 offering 19 academic programmes across six departments and three faculties.

Galadima further pointed out that PTDF has signed strategic partnerships with three UK universities: 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 the 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.