The move followed the national directive of the union to commence a two-week warning strike effective immediately
There was chaos at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) on Monday as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Benin chapter, stormed various examination halls and forced an immediate halt to all ongoing examinations.
The move followed the national directive of the union to commence a two-week warning strike effective immediately.
Students who were in the middle of their semester examinations were left stranded and confused as lecturers abruptly stopped the process and walked out of the venues.
One of the affected students who spoke to the media under condition of anonymity said the development threw the campus into disarray.
“Every exam in the faculty has been cancelled,” the student said. “No more exams till after two weeks. UNIBEN ASUU has mobilized its members to disrupt any ongoing exams. A two-week strike was activated with immediate effect in UNIBEN.”
The national body of ASUU had earlier announced the commencement of a two-week warning strike to protest the Nigerian government’s alleged failure to honour previous agreements on funding, earned allowances, and implementation of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
In UNIBEN, it was gathered that the local ASUU leadership promptly implemented the directive, sending messages to department heads and invigilators to vacate exam halls.
Some non-academic staff members also reportedly joined the disruption in solidarity, locking certain faculties and preventing any form of academic activity.
In response, President Bola Tinubu’s administration had threatened to invoke the “no work, no pay” rule against ASUU members if they went ahead with the strike.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the Minister of Education, Prof. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Sai’d Ahmed, accused ASUU of abandoning dialogue despite what they described as the government’s “sincere and consistent efforts” to address the lecturers’ demands.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has called on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to reconsider its decision to embark on an industrial strike, emphasising that constructive dialogue remains the most effective and sustainable path toward resolving all outstanding issues in the tertiary education sector,” the statement read.
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