UNIBEN shuts down as students protest prolonged power outage

The management at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has suspended academic activities on its campus indefinitely.

Students at the university are protesting a prolonged power outage that has lasted for weeks and affected their needs.

The protesters blocked the Benin-Ore highway to express how the outage is getting in the way of preparation for their forthcoming exams.

The UNIBEN management has been in talks with student leaders and affected members of the university campus to address the matter.

But its PRO Benedicta Ehanire said, on Thursday, that the institution had been shut down due to an impasse in talks to restore calm.

In a now-viral video, some of the students were seen confronting some military officers.

The students also demanded a downward review of the UNIBEN shuttle service’s new rates which took effect on July 1.

NAN reports that the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) earlier threw the university into a blackout over unpaid bills.

The blackout followed the inability of the university management to reach an agreement over some contentious electricity bills.

The monthly bill was said to have jumped from about N80 million to between N200 million and N280 million.

This forced the university to resort to backup power generators while rationing power on its campus and hostels.

The students have, however, continued to protest and maintained that they would not back down until their requests were met.

Speaking on Thursday, Ehanire described the “demand for 24-hour supply” by the students as “unrealistic”.

He said the impasse in the student-management negotiation forced the university’s senate to shut down academic activities indefinitely.

“Students are to vacate the hostels immediately while all the relevant units of the University are to take note and comply,” Ehanire said.

The spokesperson added that the shutdown does not affect non-teaching staff and staff on essential duties.