For its Postgraduate Scholarship Program, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has started a Computer-Based Test (CBT) for three thousand applicants from the nine Niger Delta states.
The NDDC Deputy Director, Education, Mrs. Idara Akpabio, noted that the Commission received over 13,915 applications for the local and foreign Postgraduate Scholarship from which the successful applicants for the tests were chosen while speaking at the Information and Communication Technology Centre of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, where the tests are being held.
“There are six exam sessions every day, spread over three days, and the successful applicants for the Computer Based Test are selected from all nine Niger Delta states,” she said. The difficulties we encountered during the selection procedures did not extend beyond the applicants’ failure to provide the necessary data and paperwork.
“The selection process wasn’t much of a challenge. We had about 13,915 applications. To get the appropriate persons, we had to look out for those with first class, second class upper, and 2:2. Some of them, in a bid to finish the application, uploaded blank sheets. We had to select those with complete credentials. We ended up selecting 3,000 applicants.”
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Umana Okon Umana, and the management of the NDDC were praised by the project consultant, Mr. Godson Edozie, for their consistency and tenacity in assuring the long-term viability of the NDDC postgraduate scholarship programme. He praised the Commission for bringing hope to Niger Delta youngsters through the initiative and mentioned that starting in 2022, the NDDC will exclusively be granting international scholarships in the Master’s Degree category.
In his remarks, Dr. Sunny Orike, a 2011 recipient of the NDDC Foreign Scholarship Award and Deputy Director, Information and Communication Technology, Rivers State University, praised the Commission for providing the Niger Delta youths with the chance to have an enriching global education.
Daniel Kwelli, a candidate who took the NDDC CB Test, expressed gratitude to the Commission for granting him the chance to take the test and expressed optimism that he would advance to the next stage of the hiring process. “I value this test greatly and see this as the chance I’ve been hoping for. The test was quite open-and-shut; if I’m chosen for the scholarship, I hope to return to Nigeria and advance my field of study there.”