Education
NDDC conducts Interviews for foreign post graduate scholarships
The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commenced oral interviews for over 1,050 candidates for its Foreign Post-Graduate Scholarship Programme. The interview process, spanning over eleven days, is for the candidates that were successful during a Computer-Based Test written by 5,000 applicants earlier this month.
Speaking at the venue of the interview in Port Harcourt, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, who was accompanied by the Executive Director Finance and Administration, Alabo Boma Iyaye, the Executive Director Projects, Sir Victor Antai, and the Executive Director Corporate Services, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, said that the guiding principles for the interview were equity, fairness and transparency.
He stated: “Everything is going to be done based on merit and that is what we want and the reason why we came to monitor the process is to show our support to what is going on and let people know that we did not set up a process without coming to check what was happening. We believe that the best will be selected amongst the successful candidates.
“We are sending the scholars out to represent our country. They are going to be our worthy ambassadors. The interview panel was randomly selected to ensure fairness because the 200 scholars to be selected will be our ambassadors.”
Responding to questions on why the NDDC has not increased the number of scholarship beneficiaries, the Managing Director explained that funding had been a challenge, stating: “We increased the allowance for the studies from thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00) to forty Thousand Dollars, ($40,000.00) and this affected our finances, making it necessary to create a balance.
“However, from next year we hope to reduce the number of foreign scholarships because of the high foreign exchange rate, but we will introduce scholarships for undergraduate students in Nigerian universities. This will enable us to accommodate more persons in the scholarship programme.”
Taking the NDDC Executive Management through the interview process, the Commission’s Director for Education, Health and Social Services, Dr George Uzonwanne, expressed optimism that the transparent process adopted in selecting beneficiaries of the foreign scholarship scheme would continue to produce first class performers.
He said that the consultant for the Scholarship programme assembled interview panelists from different disciplines in universities across the Niger Delta region.
Providing further information, the NDDC Deputy Director, Education, Mrs. Idara Akpabio, explained that the scholarship programme covered disciplines in engineering; including Biomedical, Software, Marine, Mechanical, Electrical/Electronic and Robotic Engineering.
“Others are Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Math/Sciences, Medical Sciences, Hospitality Management, Law, Architecture and Environmental Science.”
One of the candidates interviewed for the scholarship programme, Mr.Andy Imabibo, commended the NDDC for giving Niger Delta youths the opportunity of having an enriching global experience through education. He said that the selection process for the scholarship was very good and encouraging.
Another prospective scholar, Miss Kio Belema Iyala, said the examination preceding the interview was hitch free. She said: “The timing was accurate and the whole process was smooth. Then after a week, I got a message to come for this interview today. I will surely come back and apply all that I learned to the development and progress of my community and the Niger Delta region”.
The approval was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, dated August 11, 2026, and addressed to the Accountant General of the state.
According to the letter, the approval followed a report submitted by the Joint Action Committee on Trade Union (JACTU) in ESUT over issues surrounding a one-month strike ultimatum issued by the university’s unions.
The government also approved an across-the-board increase of N50,000 for all other categories of staff of the university.
The SSG directed the Accountant General to fully implement the approval of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah.
The directive referenced an earlier Government House letter dated August 7, 2026, on the matter.
The letter, which was copied to the Vice-Chancellor of ESUT, Professor Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, for information and necessary action, is expected to take effect from September 1, 2026.
Education
Digital Economy Boost: NCC Leases Digital Industrial Park, Learning Centre to Enugu State Gov’t
…NCC’s CEO lauds Mbah’s Smart Schools, infrastructural, digital capacity initiatives
In a major boost to President Bola Tinubu’s digital economy agenda, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Enugu State Government, on Tuesday, sealed a strategic 15-year lease of the agency’s Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre to the Enugu State Government.
The move would see the Enugu State Government take over and optimise the facilities located in the state capital as the Enugu Talent City and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute in line with the digital economy drive of the Governor Peter Mbah Administration.
Speaking during the lease agreement signing ceremony at Government House, Enugu, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the arrangement fully aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu Administration, and its ambition to grow Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy driven by productivity, innovation and private sector growth.
Maida stressed that Mbah had shown a clear agenda to build Enugu State into a digital economic powerhouse through deliberate investment in education, infrastructure, innovation and digital capacity, maintaining that the Mbah Administration was well positioned to advance the objectives for which these facilities were established.
“Our expectation is that this partnership will support Enugu’s ambition to become a leading destination for digital services, artificial intelligence, startup incubation, outsourcing, research and technology-enabled enterprise.
“We also expect these facilities to become spaces where young people acquire relevant skills, entrepreneurs transform ideas into viable businesses and local enterprises connect to opportunities beyond Enugu and Nigeria.
“These facilities were conceived as platforms for innovation, entrepreneurship and human capital development. They were designed to deepen digital skills, support startups, attract investment, create jobs and position Nigeria as a competitive destination for business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing and other technology-enabled services.
“In essence, they were built not merely as physical assets, but as platforms for developing the people and enterprises that will power Nigeria’s digital economy.
“So, for us at the NCC, completing physical infrastructure is only the beginning. Buildings alone do not create innovation. People do. Ideas do. Entrepreneurs do. And partnerships bring all these elements together,” he said.
The NCC boss also commended Governor Mbah’s investment in Smart Green Schools, saying he was building an economy prepared for the future.
“Physical infrastructure is essential to development, but infrastructure alone cannot deliver lasting prosperity. This is what makes the Smart Green Schools initiative significant. It recognises that preparing our children for tomorrow must begin today. Technology-enabled schools, digital learning facilities, robotics and artificial intelligence laboratories demonstrate an understanding that education must evolve alongside technology. That is leadership with the future in mind.
“Investment in education and skills raises productivity, expands economic opportunity and strengthens the ability of individuals and businesses to create value.
“This is even more important today. Artificial Intelligence is reshaping industries. Automation is changing the nature of work. Digital technologies are transforming how governments serve citizens and how businesses operate,” he concluded.
Speaking, Governor Peter Mbah commended President Tinubu for recognising the centrality of the digital economy to the $1 trillion economy he seeks to build, as well as for understanding that much of that growth would come from the states.
He noted that AI would contribute about $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030, saying, “It is not a space you want your young ones to be missing.”
“We also believe that our talents, our brightest talents, should not be exported in person. We believe that they should export their talents outside the country from here, and that is why we see huge benefits in these assets in terms of job creation and opportunities for our young people.
“We are also looking at transforming the Digital Bridge Institute into a world-class AI institute. We will also transform the Digital Industrial Park. If you have followed the news, we have already taken steps, working with some teams from Qatar, to make sure that it becomes a certification centre for AI on the continent.
He said the NCC would not regret its decision to temporarily hand over the facilities to Enugu State.
“I am sure that a few years down the line, we can come back here and be very proud of the decision we made today to activate these assets and to make sure that they are productive,” he concluded.
Earlier in his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Digital Economy and Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), Arinze Chilo-Ofia, thanked the FG and NCC for the confidence reposed in Enugu State to activate and optimise the two strategic assets and ensure the realisation of the objectives for which they were conceived and built.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the sales of registration forms for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) admissions for the 2026/2027 academic session.
JAMB stated this in a post on its X handle on Tuesday night.
“UTME is open to suitably qualified candidates for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions for the 2026/2027 academic session,” the photo statement signed by its Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, read.
“Registration commences January 2026 and closes March 2026 (exact dates to be announced by JAMB),” the post read, disclosing that the UTME examination is scheduled to hold in April 2026.
“The period of registration for UTME candidates, including those from foreign countries, is from Monday, 26th January, 2026 to Saturday, 28th February, 2026,” the statement read in part.`
According to JAMB, candidates must have obtained their National Identification Number (NIN) before registration.
The agency said, “Only candidates who will not be less than 16 years old by 30th September, 2026 are generally eligible to apply/be considered.”
But it clarified that, “Candidates less than 16 years old by 30th September, 2026 will have to undergo an intensive evaluation to determine their eligibility for a waiver. Such must have scored not less than 80% in each of UTME/ALEVEL, PUTME, SSCE, and in the exceptional candidate assessment.”
“The UTME results of the underage candidates will be released only at the conclusion of the complete evaluation process,” JAMB said.
For Direct Entry candidates, the “Sale of 2026 Direct Entry (DE) application documents and E-PIN vending would commence from Monday, 2nd March, 2026, and end by Saturday, 25th April, 2026, and would only be at the Board’s State and Zonal Offices.”
“The 2026 UTME will commence on Thursday, 16th April, 2026 and end on Saturday, 25th April, 2026,” JAMB wrote. “Mock-UTME (optional) shall hold on Saturday, March 28th, 2026.”
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