By Damilare Adeleye
Some patients, on Monday, staged protests outside the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, expressing frustration over a 17-day power outage that has disrupted vital services, including surgeries, laboratory testing, and other critical operations.
The power supply was disconnected by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over claims that the hospital owes outstanding payments under its “Band A” tariff structure.
It was learnt that the hospital’s monthly electricity bill stands at N88 million due to its placement in the highest commercial tariff band.
In a video posted by Oyo Affairs on X, a man was seen confronting the hospital management, accusing them of negligence as patients reportedly suffer due to a lack of power and water supply in the hospital.
“People are in pain, people are dying in the wards. There’s no electricity, and you’re just sitting there calling yourselves management. If you have issues, lay them on the table; stop letting people die here,” he said.
“What did we do to deserve this? You are so indifferent to the patients’ plight, yet people are dying while you protect your own relatives when they come here. You think that’s right?”
He continued, shouting, “CMD, thief! The management here are thieves. You’re collecting exorbitant fees from us, raising costs on everything, and yet nothing improves.
Also, some patients in the ward were seen protesting by banging on metal surfaces, chanting, “Turn on the electricity for us.”
One patient shouted, “You give us no electricity, no water. Do you want to kill us? This is supposed to be a hospital!”
Another voice was heard saying, “UCH, don’t kill us! Turn on the electricity for us. We have no water or power. Do you want us to die?”
The patient urged for immediate improvements, noting that the hospital management’s offices still had power.
In response, a hospital official said that the electricity issue was beyond the hospital’s control, citing high bills from the electricity provider.
“Did you know IBEDC billed us N88 million in the first week and N99 million in the second week?” he asked.
“Let’s be honest with ourselves,” the official continued.
“The ones we should be appealing to are the federal government in Abuja, who promised to cover 50 percent of the electricity costs for all hospitals, including UCH, but haven’t followed through.”
In response to the protests, UCH management called on the IBEDC and federal government to reconsider the hospital’s tariff band classification, citing the heavy burden it imposed on the facility’s finances and its ability to provide consistent healthcare services.