{"id":1678,"date":"2026-07-15T15:29:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2026-07-15T15:31:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:31:06","slug":"hostel-rent-crisis-how-dollar-rate-pushed-delsu-off-campus-living-up-70","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1678","title":{"rendered":"Hostel Rent Crisis: How Dollar Rate Pushed DELSU Off-Campus Living Up 70%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ogheneovo Princess<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising construction costs linked to the depreciation of the naira have pushed off-campus accommodation rents around Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, upward, leaving many students struggling to afford decent housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 300-level DELSU student, Blessing Okoro, who paid \u20a6180,000 for a self-contained apartment at Campus 2 during the last academic session, said her landlord increased the rent to \u20a6300,000 this year, citing rising costs of building materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said cement, roofing sheets, and everything are imported. Dollar is now \u20a61,550,\u201d she said. \u201cI had to move back to a single room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the naira trading at over \u20a61,500 to the dollar and construction costs rising, many landlords in Abraka have increased rents by between 50 and 70 per cent, forcing some students to relocate to cheaper areas with longer transport distances and fewer amenities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increase has affected students living in areas around Campus 2, Campus 3, Ekrejeta, Oria, and Obiaruku, where many now search for more affordable accommodation options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A housing agent at Site 2, Efe, said the increase in the cost of building materials has contributed significantly to rising rents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLandlords say if they do not increase rent, they cannot repair leaking roofs or maintain their buildings. One bundle of zinc is now \u20a665,000 compared to \u20a638,000 before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to students, the housing crisis has also increased transportation expenses. Some students who moved farther away from the university now spend more on daily commuting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 200-level Pharmacology student, Paul, who relocated to Ekrejeta, said travelling to Campus 3 has added unexpected costs to his monthly expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy transport from Ekrejeta to Campus 3 is \u20a6500 daily. That is about \u20a610,000 monthly that I did not budget for last year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercial transport operators also confirmed that more students are now travelling from distant communities due to rising accommodation costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A motorcycle rider at Abraka Warri Park, Sunday, said students are increasingly moving farther away from campus in search of cheaper housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore, my busiest hours were 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. from Site 3. Now it is 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. from Ekrejeta junction. Students dey move far,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rising cost of imported goods has also affected academic activities. A 400-level Physics student, Faith, said the price of materials needed for her final-year project increased significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy final-year project requires imported sensors. Last year, it was \u20a645,000. Now the same order is \u20a678,000,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some students and residents shared their experiences with the increasing cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dad said if rent passes \u20a6250,000, I should look for a single room without a toilet,\u201d Blessing, a 300-level Mass Communication student, said. She added that she now shares accommodation with three other students in Ekrejeta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A landlord at Campus 2 Road, Mr Godwin, explained that although rent increases are difficult for students, landlords are also affected by rising construction costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew students pay, but returning students dey struggle. Two of my tenants left. I understand, but I also took a bank loan to build. Bank no reduce interest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business owners around the university community have also felt the impact of rising costs. Emeka, a business centre operator at Small Gate, said he had to increase his charges due to the rising prices of stationery and printing materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI increased my typing from \u20a650 to \u20a6100 per page. Paper, ink, everything has doubled. If students no pay, I cannot pay my own shop rent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increase in accommodation costs reflects the wider impact of inflation on students and residents. Rising prices of building materials, transportation, and academic resources continue to place financial pressure on the DELSU community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stakeholders have called for increased local production of building materials and policies that would reduce the cost of housing development. They believe such measures could help provide more affordable accommodation for students and residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ogheneovo Princess Rising construction costs linked to the depreciation of the naira have pushed off-campus accommodation rents around Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, upward, leaving many students struggling to afford decent housing. A 300-level DELSU student, Blessing Okoro, who paid \u20a6180,000 for a self-contained apartment at Campus 2 during the last academic session, said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[444,461,37,462],"class_list":["post-1678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-accommodatiojn","tag-dollar-rate","tag-housing","tag-of-campus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1680,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions\/1680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}