July 4, 2024
The protest on Wednesday by students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), over a 2-month blackout has made the management of the institution shut indefinitely, the federal government-owned school.
The announcement was made on Thursday, July 4, by UNIBEN’s spokesperson, Dr. Benedicta Ehanire.
The students have, however, vowed to continue their protest on the busy Benin-Lagos Expressway until the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) restored electricity to the university’s Ugbowo main campus.
Ehanire said: “Following the refusal of students of the University of Benin to shift grounds on their demands for twenty-four hours supply of electricity and more, considered unrealistic by the university’s Senate, the university has 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.
“However, non-teaching staff and staff on essential duties are not affected by the shutdown.”
BEDC disconnected UNIBEN over unpaid bills, with the monthly bill rising from N80 million to N280 million, which the management described as outrageous, thereby opting for generators being rationed, as the students kicked against just one-hour electricity supply, shortly before their first semester examinations.
It would be recalled that thousands of protesting students of UNIBEN barricaded the expressway, with motorists and commuters groaning.
