Priced Out: Inside DELSU’S Host Community – The Impact Of Rising Rents On Students
•Rising rental costs deepen accommodation woes of Delsu Students says affected students
Akpodeh Promise Oghenero
ABRAKA – The surging cost of accommodation in the Delta State University host community, Abraka, in Ethiope East local government area, is allegedly driven by inflation, soaring construction material prices, rapid urban migration, and the inability of the Delta State government to build enough hostels for students.
Vox Pop conducted by a 100-level student of the Department of Journalism and Media studies Delta State University, Abraka, Akpodeh Promise Oghenero, indicated that students of Delta State University ( Delsu), Abraka, are struggling to secure affordable accommodation as rental prices continue to soar across the university town, raising concerns over the impact on their academic and social well-being.
Investigating revealed that some areas of the University town, including Ekrejeta, Urhuoka and Abraka Railway, have reportedly witnessed significant hikes in accommodation costs ahead of and during the academic session.
Investigation further indicated that the situation has forced many students to share overcrowded rooms, settle for substandard accommodation or rely on financial assistance from family members to meet their housing demands.
Lamenting, a student who spoke in condition of anonymity narrated her ordeal to this Correspondent, how she spent weeks searching for a place she could afford to stay.
“The prices were far beyond my budget,t and some landlords were asking for additional charges on top of the rent. I finally settled for a place at Platinum, a street in Abraka, when I got tired of searching.
“My sister is already a student of Delsu, so when I got admitted, I stayed with her. We live in a bedsitter, with an annual rent of 250 thousand” said Ererhebue Juliet, an 100 level journalism student.
Investigations indicate that added to annual rent, students are often required to pay caution fees, agency fees, legal fees and utility contribution further increasing the financial burden of the students.
Landlords,s however, attribute the rise in rent to prevailing economic realities. According to some of them, inflation, maintenance expenses, high cost of building materials and the high demand for accommodation have made rent adjustments inevitable.
Mr Lucky Emebradu, a landlord in Abrak, said, “The cost of maintaining these buildings has gone up. We also face rising expenses; the cost of building materialsise just too high, so increasing rent is unavoidable.”
The housing challenge has persisted over the years due to a mismatch between the growing student population and the limited availability of accommodations within the host community. As thousands of students compete for a finite number of rooms each session, landlords are often in a position to dictate prices.
The development has prompted calls for intervention from relevant authorities. Responding to concerns over rising rental costs in Abraka, Delsu Management maintained that efforts are underway to address the accommodation deficit. The Vice Chancellor of Delta state university, Professor Samuel Ogheneovo Asagba, while receiving members of the Delsu Alumni National Fund Raising Committee in his office on March 5, 2026, disclosed that the university had secured intervention funds to build a 1000- bed capacity hostel through a central bank intervention fund and also to secure additional hostel facilities through TETFund interventions among many other arrangements to ease challenges faced by students.
While management has announced these measures, many students say they have yet to feel the impact and urge these interventions to speed up.
As Delsu continues to attract students from across the country, concerns remain over whether urgent steps will be taken to address rising rental costs and ensure that access to education is not hindered by the increasing cost of having a roof over one’s head.
