By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Prof. Shuaibu Shehu Aliyu, has called for massive investment in human capital development, technical education and innovation to enable Nigeria secure its energy future and become a major exporter of skilled manpower.
Aliyu made the call on Thursday in Abuja while speaking on the second day of the 5th edition of the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit (PEALS 2026), with the theme, “Energy Security and Human Capital: Building the Workforce Nigeria Needs for Sustainable Energy Development.”
He described the summit as timely, saying Nigeria and the global energy industry were at a critical point in history, confronted by the dual challenges of mitigating climate change and expanding access to reliable energy.
According to him, the energy transition should not be viewed merely as a challenge but as a historic opportunity for Nigeria to reposition its workforce, strengthen indigenous capacity and take advantage of emerging opportunities in the global energy sector.
He said, “As Africa’s most populous nation and a key leader in West Africa, the entire region and Africa look to Nigeria to provide critical leadership and critical skills. Our ability to thrive in this new paradigm depends on our single most valuable asset, and that is human capital.”
The PTDF boss stressed that institutions such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and PTDF could not effectively achieve their mandates without a well-trained and highly skilled workforce.
He said PTDF had a critical role to play in developing the manpower required to drive Nigeria’s petroleum and broader energy sector, particularly through education, technical training, research and professional development.
According to him, the petroleum and energy sector remains the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, covering crude oil exploration, natural gas development, petrochemicals, power generation and emerging clean-energy systems.
He noted that Nigeria’s energy security depended not only on the resources available in the country but also on the capacity of Nigerians to develop, manage, maintain and operate the infrastructure and technologies required to harness those resources.
Aliyu called for the development of a skilled, adaptable, innovative and safety-conscious workforce capable of responding to the changing demands of the energy industry.
He said the country must increase investment in technical education, vocational training, apprenticeship programmes, business skills and continuous professional development to prepare workers for emerging opportunities in renewable energy, energy efficiency, automation, data management and other new technologies.
The PTDF Executive Secretary also expressed concern over Nigeria’s human capital gap compared with some other African countries, stressing that the country should reposition its training institutions to produce skills that could compete globally and eventually enable Nigeria to export skilled labour.
He said, “Knowledge economy is very critical. Many countries of the world generate more revenue from the knowledge economy. You can sit on huge resources, but when you do not have the expertise and skills to harness them, somebody else will come and harness those resources for you.”
Aliyu said PTDF was therefore intensifying efforts to train Nigerians and build indigenous technical capacity across the energy sector.
He disclosed that the Fund was expanding its training programmes beyond its own staff to other departments and stakeholders within and outside the industry.
He also called for stronger collaboration between PTDF, PENGASSAN and other critical stakeholders, saying improved staff welfare and professional development were essential to building an efficient energy workforce.
According to him, Nigeria’s large population should not be seen as a burden but as an opportunity to build a productive workforce, citing China and India as examples of countries that had successfully transformed their populations into economic assets through skills development.
He urged stronger partnerships to ensure that Nigeria develops the technical and vocational skills needed to drive economic growth and contribute to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy.
Aliyu further identified Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported technology and technical expertise as a major challenge despite decades of oil production.
He said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, the Decade of Gas Initiative and Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan had created both an obligation and an opportunity for the country to develop indigenous technology and expertise across the energy value chain.
He explained that PTDF, established under the relevant legislation, was mandated to promote the acquisition of petroleum technology through education, training and research.
The Executive Secretary stressed the need to institutionalise structured research and innovation programmes as the energy sector undergoes rapid transformation driven by global energy-transition imperatives, technological disruption and the operationalisation of modern domestic refining capacity.
Aliyu disclosed that PTDF had initiated two major training institutions to strengthen technical manpower development.
He said one of the institutions, located at Port Harcourt, is focused on skills development and training, particularly for low-, middle- and high-level manpower, while another institution in Kaduna, known as the Shehu University of Geological Sciences and Engineering Technology, is designed to strengthen capacity in geological sciences and engineering technology.
He maintained that sustained investment in human capital remained indispensable to Nigeria’s energy security, economic diversification and long-term competitiveness.
Aliyu said developing indigenous expertise would not only create jobs and reduce capital flight but also reduce the dependence of Nigerian businesses on foreign technical manpower.
He urged PENGASSAN, government agencies, labour organisations, private-sector operators and other stakeholders to deepen collaboration in order to produce the workforce required to transform Nigeria’s vast energy resources into sustainable economic prosperity.
