Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, on Tuesday, announced a new salary structure for academic and non-academic staff of the four state-owned universities and other tertiary institutions in the state.
Oborevwori announced this in Asaba, while inaugurating the Auditor-General of the state, Mr Matthew Oghene, as well as the Governing Councils of the Universities of Delta, Agbor; Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba; and Southern Delta University, Ozoro.
He said that the payment of the new salary for the academic staff would take effect from August, while that of the non-academic staff and other tertiary institutions would take effect from September.
The new councils, which was constituted in August, had Prof. Victor Peretomode as Chairman, University of Delta, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare as Chairman, Dennis Osadebay University, and Chief Godson Echegile, as Chairman, Southern Delta University.
The governor said the four universities now offer professional courses, including medicine, law, nursing and accounting.
He further said that student enrolment in the universities had risen from 50,000 in 2023 to over 100,000 in 2026.
He also said that the academic calendar of the universities had not been disrupted by staff strikes or student unrest in 17 years.
He described the development as an evidence of the State Government’s commitment to stable academic activities.
Oborevwori described the state as “an emerging education hub in Nigeria”.
According to him, his administration remains committed to repositioning the state-owned universities as centres of excellence.
He, therefore, charged the new councils to pursue policies that would strengthen corporate governance, improve institutional efficiency and position the universities for sustainable growth.
He charged the councils, as the highest policy-making bodies of the institutions, to ensure regular meetings, collective responsibility, transparency and accountability.
Oborevwori urged them not to yield to nepotism and parochial sentiment, but display highest level of integrity in the discharge of their responsibility to inspire trust and confidence not only from the university community but also from the public.
He said: “The governing councils should ensure that cases of sexual
harassment, examination malpractice, partiality, and cultism are not tolerated in our universities.
“Where instant laws or rules have been breached or circumvented, the council must not hesitate to mete out the necessary disciplinary measures.
“Equally important is the need to ensure equity, fairness and justice in matters of staff discipline.
He 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,” he said.
The governor charged the councils to devote substantial time and resources to marketing their institutions and attracting private-sector investments.
He said his administration had continued to invest heavily in infrastructure and staff welfare in the institutions.
He said that the State Government recently approved the construction of two hostels for each of the nine state-owned tertiary institutions, with each hostel designed to accommodate 480 students.
Oborevwori charged the councils to build on the progress recorded and make the institutions more competitive nationally and internationally.
He advised the new Auditor-General 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, Muoboghare, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, Dennis Osadebay University, thanked the governor for finding him and his colleagues worthy to serve the state in that capacity.
He 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 called on eminent citizens of Delta and Nigeria to partner with government by investing in student hostels, staff accommodation, lecture halls and faculty buildings.
He said that government alone could not provide all the infrastructure required to develop the universities.
(NAN).
