The University of Benin (UNIBEN) has stopped all academic activities indefinitely. This decision was made on Thursday by the university’s management.
Dr. Benedicta Ehanire, the Public Relations Officer, said the shutdown happened because students refused to back down on their demands.
Beyond Boders recalls that students began their protest on Wednesday; they blocked the busy Benin-Ore Highway because of weeks without electricity on campus.
With exams in two weeks, they said the power outage was affecting their studies.
They also wanted lower transport fares for the UNIBEN shuttle service, which had increased on July 1.
The power issues started because the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and the university could not agree on electricity bills.
The bill went up from about N80 million to between N200 and N280 million. This made the university use power generators and limit power supply on campus and in the hostels.
Despite heavy rain, the students said they would keep protesting until their demands were met.
Dr. Ehanire said that the students’ demand for 24-hour electricity was not possible. “Following the insistence 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,” she stated.
To this effect, students were told to leave the hostels immediately.
