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.
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.
Iyaye said, “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.”
He observed that the financial burden of the foreign scholarship was huge and assured that the Commission would sustain the programme and introduce new components by including scholarships in local universities.
Iyaye, who announced that the NDDC would introduce scholarships for undergraduate students in Nigerian universities, said, “This will enable us to accommodate more persons in the scholarship programme.”
The NDDC director of Education, Health and Social Services, Dr George Uzonwanne, noted that the scholarship programme which 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.
