Don’t depend on the government for funds, Dickson tells Bayelsa state Varsity NDU

Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson has called on the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) to be more resourceful and innovative, in terms of revenue generation.

According to him, his administration can no longer sustain the existing funding system owing to the present poor financial standing of the state.

The Governor stated this during a meeting with the Governing Council and principal officers of NDU in Government House, Yenagoa.

He described a situation where the state government’s monthly subvention of about 480 million naira is spent on only the university’s recurrent expenditure as unsustainable.

Going down memory lane, the Governor said, he had expressed concern over the bogus wage bill of the university and the need for the University leadership to be prudent in the use of the funds, which his administration religiously provided until January this year, with a view to enabling the institution gain some degree of financial autonomy.

Commenting on the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the state chapter of the Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU, Governor Dickson appealed to the striking lecturers to call off their action and join hands with the government in proffering solutions to the issue of unpaid salaries caused by the sharp drop in state revenues.

While empathizing with the staff and students of the institution over the development, he, however, reaffirmed his commitment to measures that would help in cutting down the wage bill of the university, in such a way that would not affect its status as a centre of excellence and research