Protest in Benin over UNIBEN visitation panel

VEHICULAR movement along the Benin-Lagos Road was crippled for several hours last Tuesday, as thousands of Bini youths protested the inclusion of the University of Benin in the list of institutions to be examined by a Visitation Panel constituted recently by the Federal Ministry of Education. The protesting youths under the auspices of the Benin National Congress (BNC) trooped to the palace of the Oba of Benin and the  Edo state government house, insisting that it was strange for the Federal Government to set up a Visitation Panel to visit the university less than two years after a similar exercise was carried out. They called for the disbandment of the panel and threatened to continue the protest if their demands were not met. Spokesperson for the protesters, Osazee Erhiamatoe declared: We have vowed never to tolerate inactions that take the peaceful and hospitable disposition of the Edo people for granted, no matter who is connected with it. This is the context in which we condemn this blackmailing mission to the University of Benin. We wish to state pointedly that we will not take responsibility for subsequent processions that will certainly erupt after today, if this panel is not disbanded immediately. He also observed since that the White Paper on the report of the former  visitation panel, headed by Professor Peter Okebukola has not been issued, it was pointless to constitute another visitation panel. Up till now, the White Paper on the Report of that panel has not been released by the Federal Government, he stated. Those who tried to stop the Binis from producing a Vice-Chancellor are at it again, beginning from the diabolic inclusion of the University of Benin in the list of Universities to receive Visitation Panels. 
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