Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima, has presented letters of sponsorship to 20 graduates selected across the three senatorial zones of the state to undergo post graduate studies in petroleum engineering and other petroleum geosciences in British Universities in the United Kingdom.

Presenting the sponsorship letters to the beneficiaries at the council chambers of the government house in Maiduguri the Borno state capital, the governor said the training is aimed at ensuring human capital development by playing an active role when the exploration of the crude oil in the Chad Basin commences.

The governor said N142 million has been set aside for their programme, such that none of them would have any problem while undergoing their studies.

The governor said the sponsorship was part of government’s vision to plan the future development of the state as a likely crude oil producer in the future.

He revealed that his administration was trying to prepare grounds to ensure that the state indigenes were not side-lined in the scheme of things when the exploration commences.

“We do not want a situation where our people will be relegated to the background, becoming cleaners and clerks if crude oil exploration eventually begins in the state.

“We want our sons and daughters to be engineers rather than be drivers and cooks, because they hold the key to the future,” he said.

The governor who revealed that the beneficiaries were selected from all the senatorial districts of the state, urged the students to justify the huge government spending by taking their studies seriously.

Shettima said the state government is also working towards sending 27 female students to study medicine in the Nile University in Egypt to produce female doctors for the state.