Following the Minister of Power, Dr. Adebayo Adelabu’s intervention, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has agreed to restore electricity to “some sections” of the nation’s premier health facility – the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, within 48 hours after 108 days of power cut.
The decision was reached at a meeting held on Monday, February 10 with Adelabu, management of the UCH, led by the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, and the IBEDC, led by its Managing Director, Francis Agoha, at the hospital at the behest of the minister.
Persecondnews reported on February 10 that UCH, is on the brink of paralysis as a result of the over 100 days of power cut over debts.
Persecondnews recalls that the company had on October 26, 2024, disconnected the facility over a staggering debt of N495 million.
Interventions by the management which provided mini power generators, inverters, rechargeable lamps, and solar-powered fans have not been effective.
The power crisis facing the hospital became complicated following the categorisation of the tertiary institution into Band A electricity tariff structure by IBEDC which requires it to pay N80 million monthly.
Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the tripartite meeting, Adelabu said all the issues relating to the lingering power crisis in the hospital had been resolved.
Describing the lingering power crisis as not only embarrassing to the management of the hospital but also to the Federal Government, the minister blamed the humongous debt owed by the hospital on some factors including sharp practices, unseparated accounts, dilapidated infrastructure and equipment, among others.
The minister also decried previous arrangement of lumping electricity bills in UCH, saying that all the sectors, including the clinical services, College of Medicine and the commercial outlets must henceforth operate different accounts.
Also speaking at the briefing, IBEDC’s CEO, Agoha, confirmed the “gradual restoration of electricity to sections of the hospital.”
He said his team would be meeting with the hospital management to work out the modalities for the power restoration.
Earlier, some aggrieved medical students of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, has staged a peaceful protest outside the venue of the meeting presided over by the minister.
The medical students were demanding immediate restoration of power supply to all the sections of the hospital.
Describing the situation on the campus as unbearable, the students said medical, learning and commercial activities had been paralysed at the facility.
According to them, some patients had been withdrawn from the hospital to private facilities due to lack of inappropriate medical attention because of unavailability of power.
Meanwhile, striking workers of IBEDC, have vowed to continue with the action until a better condition of service and welfare package were approved for them.
The workers, however, appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in what they described as poor condition of service.
Persecondnews reports that a widespread power outage has plagued the southwestern states under the coverage of IBEDC since the strike commenced last week.
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