Vehicular movement was hampered and commuters stranded on Wednesday as students of the University of Benin blocked the Benin/Ore Highway in protest over a power outage in the institution’s campuses in Ugbowo and Ekhewan.
The university was thrown into darkness following its inability to reach an agreement with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company over perceived contentious electricity billing.
The management of the institution was said to have expressed dismay over the upward review of its monthly electricity bill from N80m to N280m.
This forced the university to resort to alternative power generators and rationalisation on the two campuses.
The protest, which began early in the morning, saw students carrying placards and chanting slogans as they blocked the highway.
A protesting student, who simply gave his name as John, said that the hour of electricity supply daily had become largely inadequate and had made studying very discouraging.
He said, “We only have one hour of electricity every day since this issue started. We are tired of studying in the dark.
The rainfall did not deter the students as they vowed to stay on until the issue was resolved.
Electricity Hike: Protesting UNIBEN Students Block Benin-Ore Highway
