Students of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, barricaded the ever-busy East-West Road and all access routes to the university campus in protest against an alleged hike in tuition by the institution’s management.

The protesters on Wednesday carried placards with assorted inscriptions condemning the alleged tuition hike, as they chanted solidarity songs and danced along the blocked road.

However, the President of the University’s Student Union Government, Etinosa, in a chat with journalists, swiftly disowned the protesters, saying, “The SUG is not part of the protest. I have talked to the students and asked them to calm down. I have pushed their complaints to the management. But the management and the students have just put me in the middle. To be very honest, this thing is tiring.”

Also reacting, the Vice Chancellor of FUPRE, Prof. Ezekiel Agbalagba, while confirming the incident, described the protesters as “faceless people, unknown to the University’s Student Union Government.”

“They are not Student Union leadership. SUG is not part of what they are doing,” the VC stated in a telephone conversation with newsmen.

He noted that the University’s management had not concluded ongoing negotiations with the Student Union Government (SUG) regarding the exact fees students are to pay, despite about five meetings held so far.

The Vice Chancellor said, “We had issues of reviewing fee charges, and we have been having meetings with the student union leaders. We’ve had five meetings, but have not concluded. At the stage we got to the last time, they said one of them got hold of the document of the stage we were on and posted it that this is the school charges. I said that it cannot be possible.

“We suspended all discussions pending when the examinations finish this week. Next week, we are meeting so that everybody will resume where we stopped and continue negotiations.

“This morning, I am in Abuja. I heard that they blocked the road. So, who are those people? The SUG leader made a disclaimer that he is not part of what they are doing. So, they are even faceless people.

“Those things trending on social media are not from the University Management. Everyone knows where our discussions ended. We have not resolved what to charge. Again, it is all about politics to discredit me. Some people may have pocketed some of them. They are not Student Union leadership. We don’t really know who is leading the protest. The SUG is not part of what they are doing.” (PUNCH)

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