The management of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has ordered students to vacate their hostels immediately following protests over power outage.
The students protested on Wednesday, blocking the Benin-Ore highway.
With only two weeks until their first semester examination, the students said the situation is affecting their preparations.
The university’s Senate held a meeting on Wednesday to resolve the matter.
It said that the school would be shut down if talks with the students fail.
However, in a statement on Thursday, the university’s spokesperson Benedicta Ehanire said the unrealistic demands of the students necessitated the action of the management.
The statement read, “Following the refusal of students of the University of Benin to shift grounds on their demands for 24-hour 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.”
The university management’s inability to reach agreement with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) over contentious electricity billing left the school without power.
The management recently expressed discontent with the company after it reportedly made an upward review of the institution’s monthly electricity charges by over 200 percent.
According to the management, the monthly electricity bill jumped from about N80 million to N280 million, forcing the university to resort to power generators.
