From Kenechukwu Obiajuru, Yenagoa
The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has conducted a Computer-Based Test, CBT, for 6,000 applicants from the nine Niger Delta states for its Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship programme.
Speaking at the Information and Communication Technology Centre of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, where the tests were conducted, the NDDC Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Alabo Boma Iyaye, said that the Commission was intentional about its human capacity development programmes.
He stated: “The successful applicants for the Computer-Based Test are drawn from all nine Niger Delta states, and there are several test sessions spread over three days. We had some challenges during the shortlisting process due to some applicants’ inability to submit the relevant information and documents.”
The Executive Director observed that the financial burden of the foreign scholarship was huge. However, he assured the Commission would sustain the programme and introduce new components by including scholarships in local universities.
Iyaye announced that the NDDC would introduce scholarships for undergraduate students in Nigerian universities. “This will enable us to accommodate more persons in the scholarship programme,” he said.
The NDDC Director of Education, Health and Social Services, Dr George Uzonwanne, noted that the scholarship programme, started in 2010, was designed to produce top-level professionals with technical knowledge, capacity, and expertise to compete in the oil and gas industry and other sectors.
He said: “The Scholarship Programme will equip our young people with relevant training and skills for effective participation in the local content programme of the Federal Government, as well as enable them to acquire specialisation in their fields of study to compete globally in various disciplines.
Uzonwanne expressed optimism that the transparent process of selecting beneficiaries for the foreign scholarship scheme would continue to produce first-class performers.
He stated that the scholarship programme covered science disciplines, including engineering, agricultural science, environmental science, geosciences, information technology, and management sciences. Others are law and architecture.
