Daniel Terungwa
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize its partnership engagements with Air force Institute of Technology, (AFIT), Kaduna to enhance capacity building in the Nigerian Airforce aviation as well as oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
The MoU was sealed at the Airforce Institute headquarters at the Nigerian Air force (NAF) Base, Kaduna, by the Executive Secretary, PTDF, Dr. Bello Aliyu Gusau on behalf of the Fund and AFIT Commandant, Air Vice Marshal MO Olatunji on behalf of the Institute.
This development will encourage the institute to produce relevant professional military capabilities needed by the Nigeria Air Force as well as training and manpower development of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
Dr Bello Aliyu Gusau who led the management team of the PTDF to the institute in Kaduna, said that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the PTDF and AFIT was meant to further solidify the cordial relationship that has existed between the two institutions over a long period of time.
He was particularly delighted to realize that the Fund has already trained a reasonable number of teaching staff that are imparting knowledge and providing leadership at various levels of the institute’s operations.
“Last time we visited, we were pleasantly surprised to realize that quite a number of the staff had in one way or the other gotten involved with the PTDF, it’s a thing of pride for all of us to realize that the people in responsible positions including the provost are products of PTDF. So, in that light, there is so much we can do together and I believe if we work fervently this process will lead to fruition and will be to the benefits of both institutions and to the nation as a whole,” Gusau noted.
The Executive Secretary explained that the partnership will focus especially in the areas of engineering and marine security, adding that the synergy will improve on the security and marine sector as well as the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
“We believe there’s synergy between what we are doing in the PTDF and what is happening in this institute, the kind of capacities they are building and the skills they are imparting both for the civil and military purposes, we believe the more this is developed, the better for the security architecture of this country”.
Commandant, Air force Institute of Technology, Air Vice Marshal MO Olatunji in his response thanked the PTDF for taking the step further to solidify the relationship existing between the Fund and the institute.
He said; “the signing of this MoU is something that we are delighted about because it is going to open a new vista for our capacity development effort on training of manpower for the Nigerian Air force and the Nigerian civil population, the aviation as well as the Nigerian oil and gas industry. We will also have knowledgeable pools of lecturers that will impart knowledge to the students for a purposeful training of graduates that will meet the needs of our industries.”
General Manager, Legal and Secretariat Services, Mr Balarabe Zahradden Ahmed said, going by the agreement, PTDF will redouble its efforts towards actualizing its mandate of capacity building through such collaborations. While explaining the obligations of the agreement he said, “The obligation of the partnership is to further strengthen the relationship between PTDF and AFIT especially in the areas of research and development, training provision of scholarship, provision of spaces within the AFIT for all PTDF trainees in terms of small and middle level manpower development for the oil and gas industry.
Source: PTDF page on facebook.
