Vice-Chancellor commends PTDF for sustained investment in ABU professorial chair programme
. At a 4-day workshop for 35 participants on computational catalysisThe Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has been commended for the sustained investment in the ABU-PTDF endowment chair at Ahmadu Bello University.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adamu Ahmed, made the commendation at a four-day workshop on computational catalysis for 35 participants.
The participants, drawn from different institutions across Nigeria, are postgraduate students, early-career researchers, and academics.
The workshop was organised by the ABU-PTDF Chair in Chemical Engineering to train the participants on computational catalysis.
It is taking place at the Africa Centre of Excellence on New Pedagogies in Engineering Education (ACENPEE) at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The Fund established the ABU-PTDF Professorial Chair along with five others across the country to address key industrial challenges and support national development priorities.
The Vice-Chancellor, who declared the workshop open, was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof Bello Sabo.
He praised the Fund for the visionary effort and urged it to continue to strengthen the partnership in building the next generation of Nigeria’s technical leadership.
Prof Ahmed said despite Nigeria being the largest oil-producing nation in Africa the country remains dependent on foreign technical expertise for catalyst design, process modelling, and computational optimisation.
“This is not a statement of failure; it is an opportunity. It is precisely this opportunity that the PTDF Chair in Chemical Engineering was established to address”, he stressed.
He urged the participants to pay attention as they would be trained not only in software but also in a way of thinking about catalysis that can transform their research and, ultimately, help transform Nigeria’s industrial landscape.
The Vice-Chancellor equally commended the chair occupant, Prof Abdulazeez Yusuf Atta, and his team of distinguished facilitators for the training workshop.
In his address at the occasion, the Executive Secretary, PTDF, Prof Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, described the theme of the workshop as timely.
He said the theme, ‘Computational Catalysis: From Theory to Application and Computation to Impact’, aptly captured the growing importance of translating scientific research into practical solutions.
Prof Aliyu was represented by the General Manager, Education and Training Department, PTDF, Mrs Rabi’ah Waziri-Adamu.
He said computational catalysis has become an essential tool in advancing research within the petroleum, petrochemical, and energy sector by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and accelerating innovation.
Aliyu emphasised that PTDF remained committed to its mandate of building indigenous human capacity and promoting research-driven technological advancement for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
“For a country like Nigeria, where energy resources are central to economic growth and sustainability, building capacity in advanced and specialized fields is critical”, he further stated.
He was particularly delighted that the workshop was being organized as one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the PTDF chair occupant at ABU.
This, according to him, reflected the Fund’s commitment to ensuring that the endowment chair programme delivers measurable impact through capacity building, knowledge sharing, and practical research outcomes.
The PTDF Professorial Chair Occupant, Prof Abdulazeez Yusuf Atta, gave an address of welcome.
He thanked the Vice-Chancellor, the PTDF Executive Secretary, Dean of Engineering, the Head of Chemical Engineering Department, and other key stakeholders for their presence at the workshop.
Atta urged the university and PTDF for continued support, particularly in the area of infrastructure and sustained investment that would allow the professorial chair programme to reach its full potential.
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Public Affairs Directorate,
Office of the Vice-Chancellor,
Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria (NEWS/AAI&PIC/TKU)
Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026
