UNIBEN’s monthly electricity bill jumped from about N80 million to nearly N280 million, forcing the university to resort to generators and rationing.
The authorities of the University of Benin on Thursday shut down academic activities in the institution indefinitely.
In a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, UNIBEN attributed the decision to the refusal of students to shift grounds on their demands.
Recall that the students on Wednesday took to the streets, blocking the ever-busy Benin-Ore Highway, to protest weeks of power outages on campus.
The students who had two weeks until their first-semester examination said the situation had severely affected their preparations.
The students also called for a downward review of transport fares by the UNIBEN shuttle service, which was increased with effect from July 1.
The university was thrown into a blackout by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) following the inability to reach an agreement over contentious electricity billings.
The monthly bill was said to have jumped from about N80 million to between N200 and N280 million, forcing the university to resort to power generators and rationalisation of power on the two campuses and hostels.
The university authorities described the students’ demand for 24-hour electricity as unrealistic.
“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.
“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,” said the university’s spokesperson.
(NAN)
