Published 2nd Aug, 2021

By Emmanuel Uti

Students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have been grappling with limited power since the school management cut supply over rising bill weeks back.

Professor Ademola Adeleke, the school’s Director of Students Affairs (DSA), had informed the students that, as a consequence of the increasing cost of power supply, the hostels would no longer have constant electricity.

According to the DSA, the university’s electricity bill increased by 50% in the first quarter of 2021 to an average of N80 million per month and by April, when students returned to the hostels, it became N181million – an increase of about 120%.

Speaking with FIJ, a sophomore in UNILAG’s Department of Creative Arts said students no longer enjoyed constant power as they only had light at night.

“The electricity situation favours only those who are productive at night, while those who use light to study during the day can hardly study from the comfort of their hostels as we hardly have light during the day,” he said.

In her own account, a student who asked not to be named said the recent limited power supply in some areas of the school was a result of the school owing Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) some money.

The lady, who explained that certain places like the senate building and library still had constant power, said she was hopeful the problem would have been resolved before students returned to school.

When FIJ contacted the DSA, he sent a memo revealing the management’s plan to power the campus with generators.

“There are issues with power supply on campus from Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC),” the memo reads in part. “Consequently, the University Management has resorted to powering the entire campus via generating sets, a situation which necessitated the load shedding currently being experienced on campus.”

The DSA also pleaded with the university community to be patient as the situation would be addressed.

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