ABUJA — THE Federal Government yesterday reversed the upgrade of the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Warri to a University status, as approved by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

Also, the government rose in staunch defence of the N14 billion budget for the construction of the Kaduna Petroleum College, saying that those who do not want the project sited in the north should have a re-think as there is absolutely nothing they can do to change government’s decision.

The Government had on June 3, this year, at its FEC meeting approved the sum of N14.5 billion for the upgrade of the 15-year-old National College of Petroleum Studies (NCPS), Kaduna, to the status of an institution of higher learning, to enable it meet up with the current human capital challenges in the petroleum industry.

At its weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday, the Government approved the sum of N10.4 billion for the construction of a permanent headquarters for the controversial Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within 18 months.

With the approval, the Kaduna College is now to be responsible for the training of management manpower needed in the industry while the older PTI, Effurun, Warri would be responsible for training the junior cadre manpower required in the oil industry.

This development undoubtedly has continued to generate widespread condemnation from a cross section of people of the Niger-Delta region.

Fielding questions on these issues from State House Correspondents after yesterday’s meeting, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, declared that that the government of President Yar’Adua has since reversed the Obasanjo decision which upgraded the PTI to a University status because it was unnecessary.

He said “look, look, don’t give us that. That is the mistake which we have made, we have gone ahead and converted the polytechnic and the institution we need for the training of the manpower which we need in our oil industry and not only in the oil industry but also to universities. But everybody wants to obtain a university grade, it does not happen that way”.

According to him, “the people who run the economy of a country are not necessarily people with degrees from universities. This is why we give emphasis to the PTI to train people that we need. Our oil industries are suffering because we don’t have the right manpower.

And here you are talking about converting an institute which has been set up precisely to train people that we need into a university that will train people that we don’t need. How? Come on”.

Reacting to why the government decided to spend such sum on a fledging college in Kaduna at the expense of the ailing PTI in Warri, the Minister said “O, come on. Come on; the place I went to study at the Federal College of Science and Technology in London.

It is the biggest training ground for mining and petroleum engineers, and there is not a drop of oil in London. So the question of the location of the institution to train people is not necessarily a coincidence with where oil resources are.

“Having said that”, he continued, “the Petroleum Training Institute in Warri was set up in the middle of the people, where the bulk of the people who are going to be operating in the oil field come from.

The majority of the people are there, we have also in our local content provision ensure that people from the area where the oil is found are going to be predominate, as a matter of policy, in an employment opportunity.”

He explained that “of course, we cannot say that everybody employed in the oil and gas industry must come from the Niger-Delta region but the majority and the bulk of the people are going to, of course, come to the area. The Petroleum College in Kaduna is not going train everybody in the sector.

It is going to train managers, and without prejudice, it will have a high enough standard and people will from all over Africa will come and be trained. And the PTI Warri is training people from Angola, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe, but the bulk of this intake must be Nigerians. But we will make it possible for other nationals working with us in the industry to bring in students”.

On the government’s wisdom approving N14 billion for the building of a new office for PTDF a week after it approved N3.9 billion for the furnishing of the new office of Foreign affairs ministry, the minister said: “talking about the N14 billion cost for the construction of the PTDF office, if you want to build a three-bedroom flat you know what the price is.

Here you want more people to be trained in the oil gas industry and you don’t want the PTDF to have a befitting office, an agency that trains not only people in the oil and gas industry but for petroleum technology that we need in the oil and gas.

You don’t want them to have suitable office. What do you want to do? You want them to operate from a flat”? He queried.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/07/22/fg-reverses-warri-pti-upgrade/comment-page-1/#comment-21033

This government is definitely dumb and stupid.

This government is definitely dumb and stupid.

You can say that again

Dem go turn right and then turn left; perambulator.

one of the little thing that would have been used to appease the ND people,
Is something wrong with YarAdua's head?

I believe ND ministers attended that FEC meeting, and raised no objection

billions of dough have been spent re branding the PTI in warri, new vehicles, Infrastructure, buildings, vancancies etc, why leave it now?

i tire for Naija, they kip confusin the masses more. May God help us!

Dats y i do not entirely balme all these militants, drastic actions like this deserve drastic reactions!

So why Kaduna? and why Kaduna for managerial positions and the one with intl standards, we know the motive, but it wont work.

just a matter of time, the keg of gunpowder go burst.

naijatoday:



According to him, “the people who run the economy of a country are not necessarily people with degrees from universities. This is why we give emphasis to the PTI to train people that we need. Our oil industries are suffering because we don’t have the right manpower.

Nonsense!!!!

what the koko of the matter?

so an institute will not be called  'university'- does that in anyway impair on the duties of those running it?

the only thing that wont be upgraded is the name right? did they in anyway say funding wont be made available next year?

Will there be an uproar also if the govt decide to build a university somewhere else?

whenever an HQ is to be built theres always little noise over where it should be sited- some will argue it should be in Abuja so the govt can always apportion money to it, some will say it should be in the community where its meant to serve- we spend so much time shouting over little little things!

what PTI warri like at the moment?

Is the head a Mallam from katsina?

Are the local councillors, House Reps, Senators and Governors supporting it?
or are they just leaving it as the FGs responsibility?

Whats the percentage of northerners at the school

Oh! Nigeria our great nation may the lord God help us to do away with ethnic interest and tribalism to work together as a nation to achieve our set goals in jesus name, Amen.

Nigeria:  there's always the discrimination btw The University grad and the Polytechnic graduate,

This is ridiculous.

They changed a decision taken by a government and still insists that they cannot change another decision? This is purely a recipe for unrest. I am sure those who make these rules and revisions actually benefit from the unrest in the Niger Delta.

What an insincere and insecure fellows will have in govt of the day!Northern agenda indeed.How come this people are alway trying to dualise or worse still take over what southern people of the country seem to enjoy?What haven to all the military schools in Zaria;from where they raise men to terrorise the so called ND?

The truth is the country will never experience real progress until national policy is free from all form of tribalism,ethnicity,sectionism and northernism!

They believe they can continue to deceive,oppress and suppress the common people of this country ,Niger Delta in particular.the buble will soon burst.the day of rekoning is at am.Be at alert.

MrCrackles:

Another reason why Nigeria should be continuosly labelled a JOKE!

Before nko'?

these so called leaders are soooooooooo confuse that they just dont know what to think of but their pocket alignment!

We've got so much comedians in the Nigerian Government right now.

I no fit cry because na where i grow up Yar ' Adua a nd Luqman dey take play kalo kalo so, God, abeg give Northern Nigeria Oil make we free from these Ogboju wey dem dey play us. Correct, FG had no issue upgrading PTI to a university but wat is the rartionale of siting a MANAGEMENT TRAINING INSTITUTE IN KADUNA? PTI no fit train management cadre of staff? Make our so-called political elites see the insult wey we dey endure for their hands.


God go liberate us after we decide to act.

While the FG continues with its dance of shame and deceit, I seriously urge the ND states to pull resources together and build a befitting, high standard Petroleum University, one which the proposed Kaduna University can not match in quality and content. A university that will train many Niger Deltans and other Nigerians in the Petroleum Industry management. The ND people should not depend on this FG with its circus show of shame to continue to short-change them.

Dis Guy:

what the koko of the matter?

so an institute will not be called  'university'- does that in anyway impair on the duties of those running it?

the only thing that wont be upgraded is the name right? did they in anyway say funding wont be made available next year?

Will there be an uproar also if the govt decide to build a university somewhere else?

whenever an HQ is to be built theres always little noise over where it should be sited- some will argue it should be in Abuja so the govt can always apportion money to it, some will say it should be in the community where its meant to serve- we spend so much time shouting over little little things!

What we are saying here is that OBJ government upgraded PTI Warri to a university and this government is reversing that decision, maintaining the status quo for PTI Warri and moving the university meant for Warri to Kaduna, is that fair by any standard?

Another slap on ND people. Lukman's excuses on why the institution should be moved to Kaduna is even more annoying. It also reminds me of UNN library books forcefully taken to ABU library after the civil war.

This is a distraction - Nigeria does not have a lack of university grade employees in the oil industry. We have hundreds (if not thousands) of University trained people both within and outside the country, yet a lot of them are not employed.

The PTDF ALONE has trained 596 MScs and 86 PhDs ABROAD - do we need additional universities??

UNIPORT has the institute of petroleum studies (IPS) http://www.ipsng.org/about.htm do we need more university grade people?  


Low level technical manpower is our main lack. That is why companies will bring in hundreds of Filipinos, Chinese, Bulgarians and the like to do work while all Nigerians want is the 'graduate' jobs.  

There is no reason for every petroleum institution to be located in the ND, though the ones in the ND should not be denied funds for the ones elsewhere.

That said, how much has been spent on PTI?

Over 9bn in the phase 1 upgrade, with the PTDF indicating over 17bn has been spent overall on the upgrades.

The upgrade is not making the Kaduna institute a university, it is an Institute, similar to Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and will be called NIGERIAN INSTITUTE FOR PETROLEUM POLICY AND STRATEGY.

It is NOT a university - let's not get clouded by emotions here.

no govt in this country

Sol much for servant leader. Looks like the only way to deal with these guys is with koboko. No wonder , MEND

Naija will always keep going round and round in circles

Why is Yaradua so tribalistic? Why?

loyeruope:

Why is Yaradua so tribalistic? Why?

My problem is not just him being tribalistic but the foolishness of his timing as touching this decision

I can't afford N180,000 per session 4 the university, and I am not interested in HND. I wonder if i would further my education in a nation where ETHNOCENTRISM RULES[color=#990000]

loyeruope:

Why is Yaradua so tribalistic? Why?

He may not be a bad person, so to speak, but you have to blame whoever "appointed" him to this position. Of all the millions of equally capable Nigerians, OBJ chosed this lack-luster-mediocre-never-travelled-out of Kano/Katsina politician. His World revolves around his comfort zone: Kano/Katsina/Kaduna. So, he tends to chose peopel he knows who happen to come only from the area in question.

naijaking1:

He may not be a bad person, so to speak, but you have to blame whoever "appointed" him to this position. Of all the millions of equally capable Nigerians, OBJ chosed this lack-luster-mediocre-never-travelled-out of Kano/Katsina politician. His World revolves around his comfort zone: Kano/Katsina/Kaduna. So, he tends to chose peopel he knows who happen to come only from the area in question.

KKK

naijaking1:

He may not be a bad person, so to speak, but you have to blame whoever "appointed" him to this position. Of all the millions of equally capable Nigerians, OBJ chosed this lack-luster-mediocre-never-travelled-out of Kano/Katsina politician. His World revolves around his comfort zone: Kano/Katsina/Kaduna. So, he tends to chose peopel he knows who happen to come only from the area in question.

lol, U too get eyes my guy