There was pandemonium at the Ugbowo campus of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) yesterday, as students took over the ever-busy busy Ugbowo-Lagos road to protest against power outage and lack of water in their hostels.
The Guardian learnt that the protest was meant to compel the management of the institution to restore public electricity and water to students residing in the hostels. Other grievances included the increased cost of the intra-campus bus shuttle.
The protest left many staff stranded as the students barricaded the main gate to the institution. It also crippled academic activities and the movement of vehicles within the community.
Some staff and students, who craved anonymity, described the situation as unbearable, saying they had been experiencing lack of water and electricity for over a month.
The students lamented the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the university to addressing the issues. They also accused the management of being insensitive to their plight, despite a promise to ensure power supply is restored.
Female students were said to be the worst hit in the water and electricity crisis as many had resorted to buying bags of sachet water to bathe and cook.
A student who expressed dismay with the management’s resort to generators, said the hostels, particularly their conveniences, were not in good shape due to lack of water supply. She expressed fear of an epidemic, owing to the unsanitary conditions of restrooms.
The unrest by the students is not unconnected with Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) disconnecting the institution, following the latter’s inability to reach an agreement over a contentious billing.
The development has thrown the entire campus into total darkness as the university now runs on power generators. When contacted, the Head, Branding and Corporate Communications of BEDC, Mrs Evelyn Gbiwen, attributed the increase in energy tariff to a directive of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Gbiwen, who noted that the new tariff system determines what ‘Band A’ customers would pay, said: “It is nothing deliberate about any customer.”
She added: “In one month, they (UNIBEN) were billed over N200 million. They paid N79 million. The following month, they were billed above N100 million, and they are still owing.
“It is a general policy that when customers don’t pay their bills, they will be disconnected. And it is when such a customer pays his bills that he would be reconnected.”
However, UNIBEN’s Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, denied the allegation that the institution was owing BEDC. She said: “UNIBEN is neither indebted nor is it owing BEDC a dime.
They shot up the monthly bill from N80 million to N250 million. The school said the action was not acceptable. That is the bone of contention.”
Meanwhile, Ehanire said the management was having a senate meeting on how to resolve the issues that prompted the protest.
