Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
A new salary structure has been approved for academic staff of the four Delta State-owned universities effective from August 2026, while that of non-academic staff and other tertiary institutions would take effect from September.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori announced this on Tuesday in Asaba while swearing-in the new Auditor-General of the State, Mr Emasogbe Matthew Oghene, and the inauguration of the governing councils of the University of Delta Agbor, Dennis Osadebay University Asaba, and Southern Delta University Ozoro.
The four universities have been accredited to offer professional courses including medicine, law, nursing and accounting, he noted.
Enrolment figures for the respective institutions have risen from about 50,000 in 2023 to more than 100,000 in 2026 as previously made public, the governor said.
Oborevwori expressed delight that the academic calendar of the universities had remained unaltered either to industrial action from the staff or student unrest in 17 years, describing the development as evidence of the state government’s commitment to stable academic activities.
The state as an emerging education hub in Nigeria, saying his administration is committed to repositioning the state-owned universities as centres of excellence and charged the newly inaugurated councils to pursue policies that would strengthen corporate governance, improve institutional efficiency and position the universities for sustainable growth.
He said the councils, as the highest policy-making bodies of the institutions, must ensure regular meetings, collective responsibility, transparency and accountability, while ensuring that the universities operated strictly in accordance with their enabling laws.
Oborevwori also tasked the councils to maintain zero tolerance for sexual harassment, examination malpractice, cultism, favouritism and corruption, urging them to apply disciplinary measures whenever rules were breached.
Hw assured that the state government would continue to support tertiary education within the limits of available resources.
“It is unrealistic and unsustainable for a university to rely solely on government funding”, the governor said.
While urging the respective university councils to devote substantial time and resources to marketing their institutions and attracting private-sector investments, he said that his administration has continued to invest heavily in infrastructure and staff welfare.
He has approved the construction of two hostels for each of the nine state-owned tertiary institutions, with each hostel designed to accommodate 480 students, he noted.
The governor charged the councils to sustain the tempo of development recorded by the universities and make the institutions more competitive nationally and internationally.
Similarly, the governor charged the new Auditor-General of Delta State, Mr Oghene, to discharge his duties with transparency, courage, professionalism and fairness, warning against political witch-hunting and deliberate cover-up.
Responding on behalf of the appointees, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Dennis Osadebay University, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare, thanked Governor Oborevwori for appointing him and other members of the councils.
Muoboghare called for the establishment of a Higher Education Endowment Fund to provide sustainable funding for tertiary institutions to enable them to compete favourably with their counterparts globally.
He also challenged eminent Deltans and Nigerians to partner with government by investing in student hostels, staff accommodation, lecture halls and faculty buildings, stressing that government alone could not provide all the infrastructure required to develop the universities.
The newly inaugurated councils include former DELSU vice-chancellor, Prof. Victor Peretomode who chairs the University of Delta Governing Council, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare who chairs that of Dennis Osadebay University Asaba, and Chief Godson Echegile whobl chairs the Southern Delta University council.
The three councils had been formally constituted by the state government last month.