Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has approved a new salary structure for academic staff of the state’s four universities, effective August 2026.

The governor said the new salary structure for non-academic staff and workers in other state-owned tertiary institutions will take effect from September.

Oborevwori announced the approval Tuesday in Asaba during the swearing-in of Delta’s new Auditor-General, Mr Emasogbe Matthew Oghene, and the inauguration of governing councils for three state universities.

He said university enrolment had risen from about 50,000 students in 2023 to more than 100,000 in 2026, with institutions offering professional courses including medicine, law, nursing and accounting.

The governor described Delta as an emerging education hub in Nigeria, urging the new councils to strengthen accountability, governance and institutional efficiency.

He also disclosed plans to construct two 480-bed hostels in each of Delta’s nine state-owned tertiary institutions and called on universities to attract private-sector investment.“It is unrealistic and unsustainable for a university to rely solely on government funding,” Oborevwori said.

The governor charged the councils to maintain zero tolerance for sexual harassment, examination malpractice, cultism, corruption and favouritism, while ensuring that Delta’s tertiary institutions become more competitive nationally and internationally.