Gov. Diri Offers Employment To Bayelsa Varsity’s First Class Graduates

Jeremiah Philip, Yenagoa

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has offered automatic employment to 66 first class graduates of the University of Africa, Toru-Orua (UAT) in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.

Diri announced this at the maiden combined convocation ceremony of 2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2024 academic sessions of the university on Saturday, June 21, 2025.The Governor said the gesture was part of measures to check the brain drain syndrome.

He stated that the gesture had been replicated in other state-owned tertiary institutions such as the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, in line with his administration’s policy to prioritise education and boost human capital development.

Congratulating the graduands, Diri commended his predecessor, Senator Seriake Dickson representing Bayelsa West, for his vision and political will in establishing the UAT, which he noted was meeting the educational needs of the state and beyond.

Diri said: “ln line with our government’s policy, all first class graduates of UAT will be offered automatic employment to ensure that we do not lose our best brains.

“This first combined convocation ceremony of UAT is momentous and historical. When l took over as governor, l had a lot of presentations, which included closing down the UAT. But l came to the inescapable conclusion that rather than shutting it down, l opted to establish more because education remains our number one priority.”

Responding to the challenges presented by the Vice-Chancellor, Diri said the government will continue to address them through collaborative efforts and urged the institution to explore funding modules towards generating income.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Solomon Ebobrah, announced that 66 were awarded first class degrees out of the 905 graduands of the four academic sessions.