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| Prof Samuel Ovuete Aghalino |
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has carried out a resource verification exercise at Dennis Osadebay University (DOU), Asaba, as the relatively young state-owned institution prepares to introduce postgraduate programmes. The visit, which assessed academic staffing, physical infrastructure, laboratories, classrooms, library resources, research facilities and institutional documentation, marks a critical regulatory step before any master’s or doctoral offerings can commence.
Resource verification is a standard NUC quality-assurance process. Unlike programme accreditation—which occurs after a course has run for a period and evaluates outcomes—resource verification examines whether a university has the human and material capacity to launch a new programme in the first place. Teams scrutinise the number and qualifications of academic staff (especially those available for postgraduate supervision), laboratory and research equipment, library holdings (both physical and electronic), classroom and office space, and supporting documentation such as Senate approvals and strategic plans. Successful verification typically allows a university to begin admitting students; the programmes then face full accreditation after about two years of operation.
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A Young University Building Momentum
Dennis Osadebay University was established in 2021 by the Delta State Government through the upgrade of the former Anwai Campus of Delta State University, Abraka. It is one of three new universities created that year—alongside the University of Delta, Agbor, and what is now Southern Delta University (formerly University of Science and Technology, Ozoro)—in a deliberate bid to expand access to higher education. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa signed the enabling bills into law after the State House of Assembly passed them; the institution was named after Chief Dennis Osadebay, the first Premier of the defunct Midwest Region, who hailed from Asaba.
The decision addressed a clear capacity gap.
Before the new universities were created, more than 20,000 qualified candidates seeking university places in Delta State in 2020 could not be admitted due to limited spaces at Delta State University, Abraka. By early 2026, the three institutions had collectively produced their first cohorts of graduates—more than 3,200 in total—with DOU contributing 416 pioneer graduates across faculties including Agriculture, Arts, Behavioural Sciences, Computing, Environmental Sciences, Management Sciences and Sciences.
As of mid-2025, DOU offered 86 NUC-approved and accredited undergraduate programmes across nine faculties. Admissions have grown rapidly: from about 150 students at inception to several thousand in subsequent sessions. The university has also recorded research output, including hundreds of journal publications and conference papers, and begun forming international academic partnerships.
In 2026, Professor Samuel Ovuete Aghalino, a historian previously at the University of Ilorin and an indigene of Delta State, was appointed the second substantive Vice-Chancellor by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori. His tenure has coincided with further institutional maturation, including plans for a Business School whose curriculum framework—covering postgraduate diplomas, master’s, executive master’s and doctoral programmes in areas such as Accounting, Economics and Public Administration—was recently submitted by a committee chaired by Professor Kelly-Bryan Ovie Ejumudo.
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| NUC Team |
What the Verification Team Found
Leading the university’s reception of the NUC delegation, Vice-Chancellor Professor Samuel Aghalino described the exercise as an opportunity for self-assessment and targeted improvement. He assured the visitors of full cooperation and management’s commitment to meeting the standards required for a successful postgraduate take-off.
Professor Haruna Lawal, speaking on behalf of the NUC team leads, characterised the exercise as constructive rather than purely inspectorial. The panel examined academic staffing levels, physical facilities, laboratories, classrooms, academic staff offices, library resources (including electronic databases), research infrastructure and relevant documents. Programmes under consideration included Chemistry, Economics, Agricultural Economics and Extension, Geology and International Relations, among others.
At the close of the visit, the team presented preliminary observations. It commended DOU for facilities already in place—particularly academic staff office accommodation—while identifying areas needing strengthening: overall infrastructure, academic manpower, library resources (especially physical book collections), research facilities and documentation. Aghalino thanked the delegation for a professional assessment and pledged to close the identified gaps. He noted that construction of additional lecture halls was already under way, efforts were ongoing to improve staff office space, and the university had invested substantially in electronic library resources while recognising the need to bolster its physical holdings.
“We are not afraid of challenges. We are here to tackle them headlong,” Aghalino said, reaffirming the institution’s determination to build a postgraduate system that meets national and international standards.
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Why Postgraduate Expansion Matters
Nigeria’s higher-education landscape faces dual pressures of access and quality. Demand for postgraduate qualifications continues to rise as the labour market increasingly values specialised skills, research capacity and advanced professional credentials. At the same time, many institutions—especially newer ones—struggle with staffing density for supervision, laboratory equipment, and research funding. NUC’s resource verification process exists precisely to prevent the proliferation of under-resourced programmes that could undermine the value of Nigerian postgraduate degrees.
For Delta State, the expansion of postgraduate capacity at DOU and sister institutions carries local significance. It can help retain talent that might otherwise migrate to older federal universities or overseas, support applied research relevant to the state’s agricultural, environmental and economic priorities, and strengthen the pipeline of academics and professionals needed for regional development.
The simultaneous interest in a dedicated Business School suggests DOU is positioning itself to serve both traditional academic pathways and the continuing-education needs of working professionals.
Similar verification exercises have recently taken place at other Nigerian universities, including Achievers University and the National Open University of Nigeria, reflecting a broader wave of postgraduate programme development across the system. Success at DOU will depend not only on addressing the specific gaps flagged by the NUC team but on sustained investment in academic staff development, research infrastructure and library resources over the coming years.
Looking Ahead
Resource verification is a necessary but not final step. Should the NUC ultimately grant approval, DOU will be able to advertise and admit students into the assessed postgraduate programmes. Those programmes will later undergo accreditation to confirm that teaching, supervision and research quality meet required benchmarks. In the interim, the university’s management has publicly committed to acting on the team’s observations.
For a university only five years old, the pursuit of postgraduate offerings represents a natural next phase of institutional growth. Whether DOU can translate the constructive feedback from the NUC into durable capacity will help determine how quickly—and how credibly—it can expand its academic footprint beyond undergraduate education. The process now under way offers a transparent window into both the ambitions of a young state university and the quality-assurance mechanisms that govern Nigeria’s university system.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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