For the third consecutive time, the University of Benin (UNIBEN) management has postponed the Students’ Union Government (SUG) election indefinitely. Students have kicked against the action, threatening to protest if it is not reversed. EZEKIEL EFEOBHOKHAN (500-Level Pharmacy) reports.
The University of Benin (UNIBEN) Students’ Union Government (SUG) elections will not hold as scheduled. Management has, for the third time, postponed the election indefinitely, citing security reasons.
Students have kicked against what they called the “unlawful postponement”. They are planning a demonstration to make the management reverse its action.
The institution’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Michael Osasuyi, has called for calm, saying the management took the decision to ensure students safety.
In statement, Osasuyi said: “The election was postponed in the best interest of the students. The campus has always been peaceful and the management wants to maintain that standard. We cannot afford to allow breach of peace in the school in the name of SUG elections. Hence, steps are being taken to ensure peace when the election is held at a later date. Once measures are in place, a new date for the election would be communicated to students.”
Noting that the decision was based on strong security reasons, Osasuyi explained that there were credible threats against some of the candidates. He said the management received a security report from Department of State Service (DSS), which prompted the school to take the decision.
The decision, however, did not go down well with students, who wondered why the school could not deploy security operatives to monitor the exercise.
A student, who did not want his name in print, disagreed with the management, saying: “Are they saying the school security personnel are not capable of maintaining peace on campus? Instead of postponing the elections, the school can write the DSS to be on ground during and after the elections to fish out troublemakers. I don’t believe the management’s reason for the postponement of the election.”
In his opinion, the outgoing SUG president, Raymond Omoregbe, said the management was right for postponing the election. He urged the school to act on the security report with a sense of seriousness and prevent breakdown of law and order on the campus.
A presidential candidate in the election, Lauretta Obakpolor, said she did not get any threat in the couse of her campaign. “As far I am concern, there is no threat against my person. I am safe. I am good to go,” she said.
Another student, Phillip Onaiwu described the postponement of the election as anti-student, saying that the exercise was supposed to hold in the current semester. “The SUG election needs to come and go, so that we can move on with academic activities. A new date should be announced on time,” he said.
Clifford Iyekekpolor, a presidential candidate from the Faculty of Education, said although some contestants may not have been threatened, he got several threats. “Some persons have vowed that I will never win. They threatened that if I win, they would do all within their power to ensure that I am not sworn in.”
Clifford said his supporters apprehended a student in Education Faculty, who was defacing his posters. According to him, he approached other candidates to call their supporters to order.
The election was supposed to be held last semester after two out of six candidates were cleared for presidential contest. But, National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) intervened on behalf of the disqualified candidates, which made the election to be shifted from initial date.
The electioneering was marred with accusation and counter-accusation, which made the exercise to be postponed the second time.
A letter written by concerned students to the management and which was circulated on social media read: “Students of the University of Benin are fully asserting that the election should hold as slated. The April date should remain unchanged. The management should expect action from the students if it did not hold the election.”
A member of the electoral commission, who simply gave his name as Dami, said the body received the letter, but it was unsigned.
Emmanuel Abah, a student, said: “SUG election postponement is not new to us but what is surprising is the peaceful way students addressed the issue. The management took advantage of this by neglecting the pains and financial burden the postponement would cause the candidates. The management cannot exist if the students are not there.”
