The establishment of the university through a Law of 2000 is no doubt a significant turning-point in the educational, indeed socio-economic history Bayelsa State in particular and Nigeria in general.

The significance of the university is particularly rooted in the fact that Bayelsa State is officially classified by the Federal Government as an “Educationally less developed state”. It is perhaps to this disadvantaged status of the state that informed the very significant number of foundation faculties.

The university, which started academic activities in the 2001/2002 session, had its pioneer set of graduating students in the 2004/2005 academic year. Although, the student population was only 1,039 at inception, this increased to 4,636 in 2003/2004 and later 10,294 in 2006/2007. Given the fact that the university maintains the quota provided by the National Universities Commission (NUC), it may continue to be a relatively small but efficient one. There has also been a signification increase in the number of academic and non-teaching staffs. Given the initial dearth of experienced academic staff, the pool of retired staff from other universities has been a significant source of such staffs.

The university is located in Wilberforce Island, about 32km from the state capital Yenagoa and is made up of three campuses; the Gloryland campus (main campus), the College of Health Sciences campus and the temporary campus of the Faculty of Law. A new campus, which is really an extension of the Gloryland campus, is being developed.

The main source of revenue is the Bayelsa State Government. There is no doubt that the government of the state has always been committed to the development of the university. The administration of the university has been determined to diversify the sources of revenue. As part of the focus, an endowment fund is already in place. About N4bn (four billion naira) was realized at the initial launch of the fund early in 2007. The university will continue to be grateful to its benefactors, such as Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO), Chief Lulu-Briggs, Diamond Bank and Chevron.

The university has no doubt made significant progress. This website provides information of interest on the university. Given the fact that a university is quite a dynamic system, it is possible that some information, such as staffs, may change before long. Be this as it may, the information provided reflects the reality of the university.

The development of the university has been the handiwork of Council, Senate, Staffs and Students. The council led by Professor Kimse Okoko, has been particularly effective.