Lecturers Demand Justice as Whistleblower Accusations Rock Ogwashi-Uku Campus – Will Students Pay the Price?
In a bombshell move that’s grinding education to a halt in the heart of the Niger Delta, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) at Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, has launched a blistering two-week warning strike. Kicking off on Tuesday, October 22, 2025, the action slams the brakes on lectures, exams, and campus life, all in protest against a festering certificate racketeering scandal that’s smeared the institution’s reputation like oil on troubled waters. For students in Aniocha South Local Government Area – already juggling economic hardships and infrastructural woes – this shutdown isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a stark reminder of how administrative rot can derail dreams in the oil-rich but opportunity-starved Delta.
Dr. Michael Ohana, the fiery ASUP Chairman at the polytechnic, didn’t mince words in his strike declaration. “The lingering issue of alleged result racketeering has brought the institution into disrepute and disrupted academic activities,” he thundered, pointing fingers at a toxic brew of government inaction, overzealous Governing Council meddling, and a rogue whistleblower’s unverified bombshells. Social media, that double-edged sword of the digital age, has amplified the mess, turning whispers of fraud into nationwide headlines. “Our members are the worst hit,” Ohana lamented. “When we relate with the world outside, we are no longer able to proudly say we are staff of Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku.”
The Spark: A Whistleblower’s Fury Ignites Chaos
At the epicenter of this storm is Raphael Ufua, a self-proclaimed whistleblower whose allegations have lit a fuse under the polytechnic’s foundations. Ufua claims principal officers have been doling out certificates to ghost students – folks who’ve never darkened the classroom doors yet walk away with credentials that could land them jobs or further studies. It’s a gut-wrenching accusation in a region where youth unemployment hovers like a dark cloud over the Niger Delta’s creeks and communities. Forged papers not only cheat the system but erode trust in polytechnics as ladders out of poverty for Ika, Anioma, and Urhobo indigenes chasing technical skills amid the oil industry’s boom-and-bust cycles.
ASUP, however, isn’t buying Ufua’s narrative wholesale. They brand him a “false whistleblower” whose reckless claims have dragged innocent staff through the mud, calling for his immediate arrest and prosecution. “This is merely a case of result forgery perpetrated by individuals who are neither management staff nor principal officers,” the union insists, flipping the script to shield the institution while decrying the damage. The scandal’s ripple effects? Police summons hauling Heads of Departments to Abuja for grilling on suspected forgeries – a harassment ASUP demands ends now.
A Timeline of Turmoil: Suspensions, Ultimatums, and Endless Probes
This strike isn’t a bolt from the blue; it’s the crescendo of a year-long opera of dysfunction. Flash back to February 2025: The Governing Council, chaired by Pastor Paul Adingwupu, suspended the Registrar over unverified racketeering whispers – a move ASUP slammed as lacking due process. Fast-forward to July 2025, and the same council axed the Rector on flimsy financial impropriety charges, only for Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to slap it down as “ultra vires,” or beyond their powers. Unions fired off a scorching 21-day ultimatum to the Delta State Ministry of Higher Education, listing 10 counts of council overreach, from financial recklessness to lawless meddling.
Despite pleas, meetings, and investigative committees galore, the state government has fiddled while the campus burns. “It has become imperative that the Union embarks on a two-week warning strike,” Ohana declared, hoping the pause forces Asaba to heed committee reports instead of spinning up more probes. The union’s wishlist is clear: Rein in the Governing Council, clarify their mandates to match other tertiary institutions, and pump resources into teaching aids – those “far cry” supplies that leave lecturers jury-rigging lessons with outdated tools in Ogwashi-Uku’s humid halls.
Why This Hits the Niger Delta Where It Hurts
Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, isn’t just bricks and mortar; it’s a lifeline for the Niger Delta’s teeming youth. Established in 2002 after a gritty fight against military-era closures, it churns out ND and HND grads in fields like engineering, accountancy, and fashion design – skills primed for the petrochemical hubs of Warri and Effurun, or the entrepreneurial grind in Asaba’s markets. But scandals like this? They poison the well, scaring off employers and fueling the brain drain to Lagos or abroad. In a region scarred by militancy, spills, and marginalization, polytechnics should be engines of empowerment, not headlines of shame.
Students, caught in the crossfire, face delayed graduations and uncertain futures. “We’ve invested time, money, and hope here,” one anonymous HND hopeful told Niger Delta Herald via WhatsApp. “Now, with strikes piling up, how do we compete when our certificates are under a cloud?” It’s a poignant echo of broader Delta cries: From ASUU shutdowns at Delta State University to funding shortfalls across the South-South, education feels like the neglected child of federal and state largesse.
The Clock Ticks: What Happens After 14 Days?
As the strike clock starts, all eyes are on Governor Oborevwori’s administration. Will Asaba dissolve the embattled council, as unions demanded in July? Prosecute the alleged forgers without witch-hunting staff? Or let the impasse fester, risking a full-blown shutdown? ASUP’s suspension of services is a calculated gamble – a “warning” that could stretch if ignored, much like the #EndBadGovernance protests that rippled through the Delta earlier this year.
For now, the gates of Delta Poly stand sentinel over a silent campus, a metaphor for the Niger Delta’s stalled progress. This isn’t just about certificates; it’s about reclaiming integrity in a system that’s failed too many. Niger Delta Herald stands with educators and students demanding transparency – because in the Delta, every forged signature is a stolen shot at a better tomorrow.
What do you make of this mess? Share your stories from the Ogwashi-Uku frontlines in the comments. Tag a student or lecturer who needs to see this. And hit follow for blow-by-blow updates as the strike unfolds.
