The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has validated the process of the 2024 Overseas Scholarship Scheme (OSS) of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for South-West candidates.
FCC Federal Commissioner, representing Lagos State, Mr Abdulwasiu Bawa-Allah, disclosed this in an interview with some journalists in Ibadan on Monday.
Bawa-Allah spoke during the commencement of the physical interview exercise for about 700 shortlisted candidates.
The PTDF OSS is an annual scholarship programme for MSc and PhD studies.
The purpose is to provide Nigerian students with the intellectual foundation and skill set needed to participate actively in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The federal commissioner said one of the mandates of the FCC was to ensure the scholarship process was carried out equitably and fairly to give a sense of belonging to all involved.
According to Bawa-Allah, the process is being duly followed as laid down and being one of the panellists affirms that FCC will not jettison merit.
The commission, he said, would ensure that those who duly qualified and took the exam got the opportunity.
“What PTDF is doing today is one of the social benefits to Nigerians.
“The resources to fund the scholarship for those who will win are one of the benefits of the Nigerian State.
“However, the improvement I will suggest is that the outlets in which the announcement is made should be improved upon.
“We used radio, television, and newspapers so that the information would spread to the grassroots,” he said.
Two candidates, Adebola Osifowokan and Raji Adeyinka, in their reactions unanimously said the process employed by PTDF was good.
