The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has agreed to restore power supply to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, after a year-long power crisis that led to several disruptions.
The resolution came following a tripartite meeting held on Monday, which included the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, UCH’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Jesse Otegbayo, and IBEDC’s Managing Director, Francis Agoha.
The hospital had experienced power outages multiple times, including three disconnections by IBEDC in 2024, which severely impacted its operations. The IBEDC has now committed to restoring the hospital’s power within 48 hours.
During the meeting, while discussions took place, medical students protested near the venue, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
Minister Adelabu expressed satisfaction with the resolution and emphasized that the power crisis had been an embarrassment not only for UCH’s management but also for the federal government.
He reassured the public that the issue had been addressed, and power would soon be restored to ensure the hospital’s proper functioning.
The hospital’s power challenges have been a major concern for both the healthcare community and the general public, and this agreement aims to resolve the ongoing issues.
According to Adelabu:
“Power crisis in the UCH has gone to embarrassing level. It is quite embarrassing to have the hospital in total darkness for so long. I have intervened in the matter several times but the problem still lingers.
“Other Teaching Hospitals, including the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH), University of Calabar, Maidiguri and Abuja that had similar issue were able to surmount it through the Federal government intervention of Solar mini grid.
“Similar thing will be done at the University of Ibadan and the College of Medicine. The Federal government will install 50 mgw solar mini grid which will be completed within the first and second quarter of the year.
“Also, while this is going on, the IBEDC has agreed to restore electricity to some sections of the Hospital within 48 hours while N283m will be settled on an instalment basis.
“The management of the UCH has agreed on immediate settlement of the debt on instalment payment which is going to be between 8-12 months in addition to the current bill,” Adelabu stated.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
