ASABA/Nigeria: Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has directed the immediate initiation of revocation proceedings on the abandoned Senate Building project of the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka.
Governor Oborevwori, who gave the order on Saturday during the 17th convocation ceremony of the university, said the revocation would pave the way for the re-award of the project to a competent contractor for swift completion. He described the prolonged abandonment of the project for over 22 years as unacceptable and tasked the Commissioner for Higher Education, Professor Nyerowho Tonukari, to ensure prompt execution of the directive.
In line with the tradition of the institution, Governor Oborevwori also announced automatic employment for the overall best graduating student, Okwa Favour Oghenemine, a Mathematics graduate from the Faculty of Science, who finished with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.95.
Congratulating the 6,401 graduands for being found worthy in character and learning, the Governor commended the University’s Governing Council and management for the steady growth recorded over the years. He expressed satisfaction with the university’s development trajectory, including the inauguration of a 1km road linking the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences to the Faculty of Arts, which he commissioned shortly before the convocation ceremony.
Highlighting the university’s recent achievements, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Samuel Asagba, announced that DELSU had graduated 6,401 students in the 2023/2024 academic session, including 830 postgraduate degrees comprising 154 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, 438 Master’s degrees, and 238 Postgraduate Diplomas. He added that DELSU had attained 100 percent accreditation of its programmes and was ranked 20th among over 300 universities in Nigeria, and 3rd among state-owned universities, according to the global SciVal Ranking tool of Elsevier.
The convocation also witnessed the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees on three distinguished Nigerians: foremost entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chief Broderick Uvieoghene Arigbodi (Doctor of Science); renowned literary scholar, Professor Tanure Ojaide (Doctor of Letters); and outstanding industrialist and philanthropist, High Chief Eta Enahoro (Doctor of Business Administration).
