Tension erupted on Wednesday at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun, in Delta State, as students staged a protest over an alleged hike in tuition fees, barricading the ever-busy East-West Road and all access routes leading to the institution.

The protesting students, carrying placards with various inscriptions, chanted solidarity songs and danced along the blocked highway, causing heavy gridlock in the area.

However, in a swift reaction, the President of the Student Union Government (SUG), Etinosa, distanced the union from the protest, insisting that the demonstration was not sanctioned by student leaders.

“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,” Etinosa said.

Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of FUPRE, Prof. Ezekiel Agbalagba, confirmed the incident but described the protesters as “faceless people” who were not recognized by the institution’s Student Union.

“They are not Student Union leadership. The SUG is not part of what they are doing,” he said in a telephone conversation with newsmen.

Prof. Agbalagba explained that negotiations between the school management and the SUG regarding the new fee structure were still ongoing, with about five meetings held so far without a final decision reached.

“We had issues of reviewing fee charges and have been meeting with the student union leaders. We’ve not concluded. One of them allegedly leaked a draft document, which was posted online as the new fees, but that is false. We decided to suspend discussions until after examinations this week,” he clarified.

The Vice Chancellor, who was in Abuja at the time of the protest, added that the unrest might have been politically motivated, noting that some individuals could be attempting to discredit the university administration.

As of press time, normalcy was gradually returning around the university’s main gate, though traffic remained heavy along parts of the East-West Road due to lingering blockades.