PRIDE OF DUMSAA: HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO PROF. EJIROGHENE MARTHA UMUERRI ON A WELL-DESERVED EMERGENCE AS PROVOST, COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, ABRAKA
By Stephen Adeleye
August 12, 2026
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Across the landscape of Nigerian academia, the conversation about women in leadership has long been one of aspiration meeting resistance, of talent confronting barriers, and of potential too often left unrealised.
Against that backdrop, the emergence of Prof. Ejiroghene Martha Umuerri as Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, stands as a powerful and resounding answer. In becoming the first woman to occupy that distinguished office, Prof. Umuerri has not simply climbed to the top of one institution; she has planted a flag for every woman in Nigerian academia who dares to dream without apology.
The Delsu Medical School Alumni Association (DUMSAA), under the leadership of its President, Dr. Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu, counts itself among the proudest celebrants of this landmark moment. For DUMSAA, Prof. Umuerri’s triumph is not news received from a distance; it is a victory felt in the very soul of the association, for she is one of its own.
An Honorary Member of DUMSAA, Prof. Umuerri has long been held in the highest esteem within the alumni family.
Her election to the office of Provost now adds yet another layer to that cherished relationship, as she automatically assumes the position of statutory Patron of DUMSAA by virtue of her new office. It is a role that DUMSAA believes she will inhabit with the same elegance, authority, and generosity of spirit that have come to define her public persona.
Those qualities were on full display when Prof. Umuerri joined DUMSAA’s global alumni community as Eminent Guest Speaker at the association’s 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM). Speaking to an audience of medical professionals and distinguished alumni drawn from across Nigeria and beyond, she delivered an address that resonated long after the virtual screens went dark.
Her words that evening carried the unmistakable weight of lived experience, deep scholarship, and a genuine passion for the future of health sciences education in Nigeria. For many in attendance, it was a glimpse of a leader whose greatest chapters were still being written.
Those chapters have now taken a defining turn.
Dr. Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu, President of DUMSAA, reflected on the magnitude of the moment with characteristic candour and warmth:
“The emergence of Prof. Umuerri as the first female Provost of the College of Health Sciences is the kind of news that makes you pause and give thanks.
“It is the kind of news that reminds you why we celebrate excellence, why we invest in people of character and vision, and why institutions like DUMSAA exist, to recognise, to nurture, and to celebrate the best among us.
“I had the honour of watching Prof. Umuerri address our alumni at our 2025 AGM, and I remember thinking that here was someone who carried greatness not as a burden but as a natural inheritance.
“Today, that greatness has found its rightful home. On behalf of every member of the DUMSAA family, I congratulate Prof. Umuerri from the depth of my heart. The College of Health Sciences has found in her a Provost for the ages, and we at DUMSAA could not be more proud.”
As Prof. Umuerri steps forward into this historic tenure, DUMSAA extends to her its warmest congratulations, its deepest respect, and its unwavering solidarity. The association prays for wisdom, strength, and divine guidance as she leads the College of Health Sciences into a new era, and looks forward with great anticipation to the enduring legacy her provostship will leave behind.
Congratulations, Prof. Umuerri. You are the answer to a prayer, the fulfillment of a promise, and the pride of a generation.
Signed:
Dr. Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu
President, Delsu Medical School Alumni Association (DUMSAA)
DUMSAA Publicity and Relations Officer (DUMSAA-PRO)
For and on behalf of the DUMSAA Executive
End
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER 13TH AUGUST, 2026)
