A fresh leadership crisis is unfolding at the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, following the appointment of Dr. Chika Ogonwa as Acting Deputy Rector by the institution’s Governing Council— a move insiders claim violates the laws establishing the polytechnic.
Multiple sources within the institution told our correspondent that the Council has no statutory powers to directly appoint a Deputy Rector, insisting that such authority is vested in the Academic Board, while the Council’s role is limited to ratification.
The development comes barely weeks after Governor Sheriff Oborevwori suspended the substantive Rector, Prof. Emmanuel Achuenu, and the Bursar, Mr. Lawrence Ahwabighie, over alleged financial misappropriation.
The duo’s suspension, announced in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Kingsley Emu, was to last six months to allow for an independent investigation into the allegations against them.
However, in what is being described as a “flagrant abuse” of the polytechnic’s governing laws, the Council reportedly went ahead to appoint Dr. Ogonwa as Acting Deputy Rector, a move that has generated fresh tension across the institution’s academic community.
This was done in flagrant disregard of the recommendation of the Delta State House of Assembly to the Governor.
The appointment was confirmed in an official bulletin of the polytechnic dated October 29, 2025, which announced Dr. Ogonwa’s appointment alongside the earlier confirmation of Dr. Anho and Mrs. Regina Chukwuemeka as Acting Rector and Acting Bursar, respectively.
The bulletin reads in part, “Furthermore, Dr. Chika Ogonwa has been appointed as the new Acting Deputy Rector of the Polytechnic for a duration of six months.”
But, some senior administrative officers in the institution have described the move as “an aberration,” insisting that the appointment of a Deputy Rector falls strictly within the purview of the Academic Board and not the Council.
They added that the Council only has the power to ratify. According to them, there can not be an Acting Deputy Rector where there is an Acting Rector.
A top officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “There cannot be an Acting Deputy Rector when there is already an Acting Rector. If the substantive Rector had not been suspended, the appointment of a Deputy Rector would have been the duty of the Academic Board, not the Governing Council or even the Rector. This appointment is a serious violation and is not known to law.”
Another senior academic staff member urged Governor Oborevwori, the Ministry of Higher Education, and the Delta State House of Assembly to wade into the crisis before it degenerates into another round of industrial unrest.
The source added, “The institution is already in a delicate situation. The government needs to intervene quickly before this illegal appointment causes further division among staff.”
As at press time, efforts to obtain comments from the Governing Council Chairman, Hon. Paul Adingwupu, were unsuccessful.
