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Oil, Gas Polytechnic Ready In June – PTDF
L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mr Taiye Haruna, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Mr Nebolisa Emodi and Permanent Secretary, Police Service Commission, Mr George Ossi, during the peer review mechanism of Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service in Abuja last Thursday. Photo: NAN
Work on the multimillion naira Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas Structure, Ekowe, in Bayelsa, will be completed before June this year, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has said.
The Head of Press and External Relations of PTDF, Mr Kalu Otisi, who disclosed this in Abuja last Monday, said the polytechnic was one of the special projects being implemented by the agency in the Niger Delta.
Otisi told newsmen that arrangement was being made for President Goodluck Jonathan to inaugurate the project before the next academic session.
He explained that the project was conceived to provide specialised oil and gas training for the development of middle-level manpower requirement of the petroleum sector.
He declined to disclose the cost of the project but said that it was located in the Niger Delta area “for proximity to oil exploration and exploitation in upstream and downstream operations.
“The mission of PTDF is to use education and training to build and enhance the skills and capacities of Nigerians to play effective roles in all aspects of the petroleum industry in Nigeria,” he said.
He explained that PTDF undertook the polytechnic project because it realised that overseas scholarship scheme had great financial implication on the economy.
According to Otisi, the development of the polytechnic would reduce the amount spent on overseas scholarships by the government.
He said that when operational, the polytechnic would train most of the needed oil industry manpower locally.
“This will not only save cost and the scarce foreign exchange requirement but also add value to the world-class institutions and facilities being developed and upgraded by the Fund.
“In addition, more Nigerian graduates will benefit from the scholarship scheme as we have realised that the amount spent on one scholar’s training abroad can train 5 scholars in our local universities,” he said.
The spokesman said the polytechnic was sited at the former Government Science and Technical School, adding that the Federal Polytechnic, Bonny, Rivers State, was another project under PTDF’s educational intervention programmes.
Other intervention projects by the Fund, Otisi said, included the comprehensive infrastructural and faculty upgrading at the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun in Delta and the National Centre for Skills Development and Training in Port Harcourt.
“We are also establishing an oil and gas research centre and museum in Oloibiri, Bayelsa to uplift the status of the community where oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in Nigeria and bring it to international recognition.
“It will serve as a learning centre for technology application and research as well as a museum to preserve the historical artifacts in the evolution of the Nigerian petroleum industry,” he added.
Outside the Niger Delta, he said the PTDF was building and upgrading other oil and gas institutions and facilities, including the National Institute for Petroleum Policy and Strategy, Kaduna.
“We are upgrading to international standards, oil and gas related departments and faculties in 26 universities across the country.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
