To lend credence to the submission of several sources within the institution who elected to remain anonymous, the protest began at about 5am, Monday morning, with the students insisting that light and water supply be restored to the institution. We however discovered that the water and light situation was easily used to vent anger on the institution’s administration led by the Vice-Chancellor, James Epoke.
Most students who took active part in the protest accused the V-C of increasing tuition fees and charging N300 per student as maintenance fee for the school’s website, used for online fee transactions by the students, among other grievances.
It was also discovered that while Epoke arrived the institution at 5.45am to address the students, a plan was immediately hatched to compel the V-C to use toilet facilities in the male hostels. Those behind the plot are thought to have agreed among themselves that if the V-C gets there, he must be locked in one of the toilets and kept there till water is restored. The plan however failed as security personnel ensured Epoke did not fall for the ploy.
However, at the Michael Archibong Memorial Hostel on Calabar Road, that quarters final year medical students of the institution, all did not go down well with a top administrative staff of the institution, simply identified by www.calitown.com sources as Eyoma, who had gone to the hostel in the company of a few staff members to calm fraying nerves there. The students there are believed to have held him hostage demanding that he provides a generator to pump water at the hostel as theirs had broken down. While Eyoma acceded to this request and had a generator brought from his house to pump water at the hostel, the students threw caution to the wind and impounded his generator, a source insists, unchaining the heavily padlocked gate and setting them free.
Attempts to reach the V-C and several high-ranking officials of Unical to comment on the protest, yielded nothing at press time. Presently, well armed security personnel are all over the institution as authorities insisted that students must vacate the hostels before 6 pm yesterday, October 12, 2015.
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