[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ccording to the latest global ranking, Delta State University is ranked as the 27th best University in Nigeria among the over 200 Universities in the country.

Vice-Chancellor of DELSU, Professor Andy Egwunyenga disclosed this on Wednesday while addressing a Press Conference as part of events leading to the 15th convocation ceremony of the University.

The convocation ceremony which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, 29, 2023, at Campus 3 Abraka will begin at 9am with the commissioning of projects, award of diplomas, first degree and higher degrees as well as award of prizes.

Professor Egwunyenga said, “Further analysis of the ranking showed the University to be the best State University in the South-South and South-Eastern parts of Nigeria. Furthermore, another highly recognized global University ranking body, Webometrics, in their own latest ranking, placed the University as 194th out of 2087 Universities in Africa and 24th out of over 200 universities in Nigeria, based on verified Google Scholar Citations.

“According to the ranking, Delta State University recorded 56,443 citations, beating some highly rated Universities in the United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Turkey, Portugal, Canada, and some other more advanced countries. This again is consistent with the Alper-Doger Scientific Index ranking that earlier placed the University as the 27th best in the country and 4th best State-owned University.

“Given the stringent conditions for participating in the global Times Higher Education (THE) ranking of Universities, Delta State University, Abraka got qualified and invited for the first time in January 2023 to submit an entry for the latest and ongoing prestigious THE Ranking. Entry has now been submitted by the University, and the result of the ranking is being awaited. This is indeed a product of the deliberate and strategic leadership acumen of the current administration at repositioning the University into becoming a globally recognized citadel of research, teaching and learning.”

Professor Egwunyenga stated further that given the pace at the University is going in the areas of building capacity through the development of infrastructure for teaching, research, and quality assurance, he is hopeful that in another two to three years DELSU will rank number one among State-owned Universities in Nigeria.

In the area of strengthening academic programmes, he said, DELSU has been able to secure full accreditation for all the forty (40) Programmes presented to National Universities Commission (NUC) in the November/December 2022 Accreditation Exercise.

According to him, “This happens to be the first time since the 31 years of existence of the Delta State University, Abraka, that full accreditation would be returned for forty (40) Programmes in one fell swoop. Now, all eighty (80) Programmes in the University have full NUC accreditation status. No interim accreditation, no denial for any Programme. This again is unprecedented in the history of the University and has only been made possible by the unwavering determination of the University Administration and the entire staff to advance and reposition Delta State University, Abraka, for national and global recognition.

“Most recently, approval was sought and obtained from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to raise the University’s Admission Quota for the Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Programme from 75 to 120. This was targeted at reducing the admission pressure that qualified students from Delta and neighbouring States go through in getting admitted to study Medicine and Surgery at Delta State University, Abraka.

“It is worthy of note that the current administration met the admission quota for the MBBS Programme at 50 upon assumption of duty in December 2019. The first increase was from 50 to 75.

He added that the University has obtained approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) for the commencement of some new Degree Awarding Programmes, namely: Entrepreneurship Studies, Office & Information Management, Biotechnology, Public Administration and Medical Laboratory Science.

The University he said is currently awaiting “the report of NUC’s Resource Verification Exercise for the commencement of the Agriculture Business Management Programme and the Doctor of Pharmacy Programme. The University hitherto only ran the Bachelor of Pharmacy Programme”.

Continuing, the DELSU Vice-Chancellor revealed that this year the Senate of the University also approved the Copyright Policy.

“The Policy is consistent with the Nigerian Copyright Act, 2022 to protect writers’ rights to secure fair compensation and acknowledgement for their creative labours while also establishing restrictions and exceptions to facilitate public access to works of art.

The Delta State University Copyright Policy deals with the issue of Ownership, Publication and External Use and Payment for an academic’s Intellectual Property,” said Egwunyenga.

Other events that will precede the 15th convocation ceremony of Delta State University, Abraka, are as follow: Thursday, April 27, 2023, investiture of Alumni/Award to outstanding alumni and convocation drama; Friday, April 28, 2023, Convocation Lecture and Rehearsals for the Convocation Day.

The programme of events for the convocation will be concluded on Sunday, April 30, 2023, with Founders’ Day Thanksgiving Service at All Saint’s Anglican Chapel, DELSU, site 3.

Felix Ekwu

[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ational Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at working jointly at tackling the menace of drug trafficking in the country.

The MoU aimed at sharing information and strategies that would further strengthen the ongoing war on drug trafficking in the country.

The MoU was signed at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) and the Comptroller General of NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (Retd).

In his speech during the signing, Marwa that with the MoU, the two organisations would collaborate at inflicting maximum loss on drug cartels bent on trafficking illicit substances at the detriment of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Marwa expressed his delight at the decision by the two government agencies to document their working relationship in an MoU, even as he listed the huge benefits of such to the country.

He specifically commended Col. Ali for his excellent record of performance as Customs CG and his past years of public service in the Nigerian army especially as military governor of Kaduna state. He said: “I have always known Col. Ali as a patriotic, hardworking and disciplined officer with excellent track record of achievements.”

He added that the MoU is “certainly a benchmark for information and or intelligence sharing. It is also a platform for sharing of operational and administrative experiences with a view to adopting best practices that work. With this united front, there can only be one assurance that the criminal elements in our society will definitely be the losers and I assure you that they will certainly lose big as we come for them to put them where they rightly belong and cripple their crime syndicates.

“While there is no doubt as to the benefits that this MoU will provide to our two services and the nation at large, it is my hope that its successful execution and implementation will provide the necessary impetus for extension to other sister law enforcement agencies (LEAs) operating at our airports, seaports and land borders. On this basis, it is imperative to drive the implementation of the MoU to ensure that its objectives and derivable are achieved.

“Therefore, on behalf of the NDLEA, I assure you of our commitment to this MoU and intend to provide all the necessary support required to drive the implementation process in order to ensure the realization of all accruable benefits. As it is usually said, together we stand and remain undefeatable.”

Marwa while stating the great significance of the MoU, said the document contains a number of innovations that will encourage interpersonal relationship amongst the rank and file as well as at the various levels of command and administration of the two organisations. “It provides for joint training of personnel just as it makes provisions for regular meetings of command officers at various levels of our command structures. These are the meetings of Commanders/Comptrollers of the various relevant formations, at the relevant directorates/departments of the national headquarters and at the highest level of policy making between the Comptroller-General of Customs and my office, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, which is expected to take place at least twice a year.

“The expected outcome of these series of interactions is to foster better understanding of the respective roles and mandates of our two organisations and how they complement one another in a mutually inclusive way. The ultimate objective is to dissolve suspicion, friction and general interagency rivalry that does not do our nation any good in terms of effectively securing the entry and exit points of our dear country. This will provide an effective defence line at our various ports of entry/exit to prevent the influx of offensive materials and substances that undermine our national security, and ensure that our national assets are not smuggled out to undermine our economic progress and stability.”

In his remarks, the Customs boss commended Marwa for initiating the MoU. He said: “This MOU is sending a very strong signal to fighting crime. We believe that coming together shows commitment to saving this nation from drugs and other substances. I want to take this special opportunity to thank my senior for initiating this MOU. I must say something, he is a very committed person. It is not new to us in the uniform to see his strides, for those who have had the opportunity to serve with him. He is a game player and a game changer. When my attention was drawn to this initiative, I knew this was the Marwa trend. I thank him for initiating this event, and creating an avenue for us to synergize and come up with a veritable way for fighting drug abuse in this nation.

“The essence of our being here has been underscored by my brother, but I want to reiterate that our coming together does not send a signal only to our nation but to the international partners, that we are committed to protecting our borders from illicit drugs. We have all along been doing this, finding drugs in the borders, but thank God the sole responsibility has been removed from us, and we had some relief. What we do now is that when we arrest the suspects, we hand them over to the NDLEA, where they will be pursued, investigated, and punished severely. The coming of Marwa has given us confidence that the suspects will be handled accordingly.”

He expressed the commitment of the Nigerian Customs Service to the implementation of the MoU, stating that: “We are indeed very grateful, to have been incorporated in this your thought and want to assure that the entire Customs will be behind this MOU. I want to believe that collaboration will make impact in reducing to the barest minimum the drug menace.”
He said both NDLEA and the Customs must invest in technology to fight the drug menace.”

He added that: “Both of us must ensure we deploy technology as we go into this commitment, to fighting the drug menace. It is the key to success, as methods of concealment are numerous, with other illicit drugs put in pockets, shoes, and edible foods.”

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]e-Zitas World Furniture Company in Asaba, which clocks five(5) years on Tuesday 4th April 2023 marked its anniversary with activities that were memorable and exciting to its consumers and stakeholders.

De-Zitas started its Furniture sales operations as a small company at its Nnebisi road office opposite FMC, Asaba and it has since grown to become a household name in quality furniture sales in Nigeria. Currently, it has branches spread across Nigeria.

Speaking to journalist on the continued success of De-Zitas, the Managing Director/CEO of the company Austin Nwaoboshi explained that De-Zitas has come to make live and living better in Nigeria. He said the company has consistently sales quality home furniture, outdoor furniture, office furniture, kitchen cabinet, sanitary ware and lately massaging machine to demonstrate its commitment to making the lives of its customers better.

In her own response, the Company Manager, Mrs Onoigbo Lizzy said De-Zitas products is now popular among the people of Delta State and Nigeria. Hence, the company is poised to open more world-class showrooms to ensure availability and easy access to its products in Nigeria. She said the company would need more Nigerians on its workforce in the nearest future to cope with the increasing demands for its products.
She stated that the company had since grown, diversifying into various departments such as design, supply, technical services, after-sales services and transportation services.

Describing the buy more and get more at a giveaway price season, the De-Zitas  Marketer , Tina Ese commended the good gesture of the company to delight its consumers by ways of sales discount promo, price slash, special gifts and stakeholders party. She said most companies wait till festive period to compensate loyal consumers, but De-Zitas consistently give back to reward consumers loyalty. She said during this April 2023 anniversary period, some customers enjoyed price slash of between 50 percent and 60 percent on certain furniture items. She therefore encourages customers to visit any of the De-Zitas’s showrooms so as not to miss out on this reward opportunity.

By: Ike Philip Abiagom

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]rassroots Publishers gathered that a trader identified as Onyeka Ibe, was allegedly shot along the Ugbolu-Illah road on his way to his shop at Ogbegonogo Market in Asaba by a trigger happy Police inspector known as Ebri Ubi attached to Delta State Police Command . The youths, who besieged the command headquarters along Okpanam Road, demanded the arrest and prosecution of the trigger happy policeman.

The alleged murder of a trader named Mr. Onyeka Ibe in Asaba has led to the arrest and detention of a police inspector known as Ebri Ubi, by Delta State Police Command.

By: Ike Philip Abiagom

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he President of Ibusa Youths Council(IYC) Alum Ifeanyi Asiodu, has called on youths, irrespective of their religious or ethnic inclinations to embrace peace in Ibusa and Delta State in general.
Asiodu made the call in Ibusa, while addressing some youth ahead of the governorship and House of Assembly elections. He said peaceful development of the country lies on the citizen.

According to him, “this is our time to build; we must be committed to this noble enterprise. As the election draw closer, we see this as another opportunity for us to renew our commitment to deepening our democracy and strengthening our bond of unity,” he said.

He urged Ibusa youths to stay off violence before, during and after the elections, noting that in most crisis situation, youths are found at both ends either as perpetrators or victims.

“It doesn’t matter, who is instigating violence or making inciting statements. The issue is that at the end, it falls down to the youths who would have to be the one to execute whatever form of violence that is needed to be executed.

The community leader advised the youths who have no PVC to do away from the polling unit to avoid any form of violence.

By: Ike Philip Abiagom

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]head of the 2023 general elections, The President of Ibusa Youths Council(IYC) Alum Ifeanyi Asiodu, has urged youths in Ibusa to steer clear of violence, and thuggery but apply wisdom to elect credible leaders in the forthcoming elections for the country to move forward.

Alum Asiodu noted that the future of Nigeria is bigger than individual ambitions, advising the electorates to prevent everything that would mar the elections in February and March this year. He gave the advice while disclosing the activities of the council to journalists in Ibusa, ahead of the elections.

According to Asiodu, the council has commenced an enlightenment campaign targeted at educating Ibusa people on ways to ensure peaceful and successful elections. He stressed that the future of Ibusa and Nigeria at large lies in the hands of the young people, and urged them to promote peace and nonviolence during and after the elections.
He said: “Young people have a major role to play in promoting and sustaining peace, before, during and after the elections.

“There is no doubt that some individuals will make attempt to antics youths to stimulate violence, young people must not fall for these tricks.

“The future of Nigeria is bigger than individual ambitions. As young people, we must remember there is a great future ahead of us. Posterity will never forget the decision we make today.

“We have been down this road before, we have had contentious elections in the past; we have always shown the world that our democracy is growing, let us go out in our numbers and vote. We may our perspectives, choices, and different views but the ultimate interest of a standing Nigeria should be our utmost priority.”

As the general elections draw near, it is pertinent for families to educate their young ones and youths on the need to shun violence and avoid being used as thugs, especially as most politicians who might engage them have safely kept their own children in foreign countries to get quality education.
Asiodu further advised Nigerians to be change agents for the growth of the nation, adding that the period of election is when the country makes decision on leadership.