By Ogbitse Meyiwa

On a radio show this morning, the Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN, Lillian Salami, expressed frustration over students’ refusal to believe that the school management is doing their best to ensure students’ comfort. She mentioned that students are upset about the lack of electricity and the high cost of food on campus. She explained that the school does not have a farm to make food cheaper for students, and that vendors source their food from the market, where prices are high due to the current economic situation. However, the management is working on solutions, such as asking vendors to buy their food items from cheaper places like village markets to lower prices on campus.

She further addressed the issue of the generator that was running for two hours but got burnt and damaged the fence. Students complained about the generator failure, but she assured them that the school management has already assessed the fence and will begin repairs soon to prevent unauthorized entry into the school.

Despite these efforts, students are still dissatisfied and planning to protest. She mentioned that the generator running in Hall 4 became faulty, and the school management promptly called engineers to fix it, despite its age and size.

Addressing the cost of transportation on campus, she noted that since 2022, cab and bus drivers have not increased fares because the school management issued a strict warning against fare hikes, threatening to expel non-compliant drivers from the university community. However, due to rising fuel prices, cab drivers plan to go on strike a few weeks back. The school management intervened and reached an understanding with them.

She also highlighted how the school management negotiated with BB to supply kerosene at a subsidised rate. Despite these measures, UNIBEN students continue to disagree with the school management and have proceeded to block roads in protest. Students were informed that the management is doing everything within its power to address campus issues.

The Vice Chancellor mentioned that an emergency Senate meeting will be summoned. She emphasized that the school cannot afford to pay 300 million for electricity and suggested that students return home to enjoy 24-hour electricity and cheaper food with their parents because the school management is exhausted.

The student management has a court hearing today and awaits the court’s judgement in their case against BEDC.

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