A group of medical students from the University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, on Monday, staged a protest at the venue of a meeting between the Federal Government and the management of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, over the hospital’s prolonged power outage.
The meeting, convened by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, aimed to address the ongoing electricity crisis at the premier teaching hospital.
Led by former UI Students’ Union President, Samson Samuel, the students voiced their frustration over the over 100-day blackout, which they said had severely impacted their academic and clinical activities.
The protesters demanded an immediate timeline for implementing the 50% electricity tariff discount promised by the Federal Government for tertiary hospitals. They also called for the urgent restoration of power at UCH, stating that the prolonged outage had led to canceled surgeries and disrupted hospital operations.
“We are here today to express our displeasure and frustration over the over 100 days of electricity darkness at UCH. As medical students, we rely heavily on electricity to power our equipment and facilities, but this outage has made it impossible for us to carry out our academic and clinical activities effectively,” said one of the students, Tola.
Another student, Tobi, highlighted the devastating impact on patient care, stating, “Surgeries and other critical medical procedures have been canceled due to the lack of electricity, putting patients’ lives at risk.”
The students insisted they would not leave the premises until they spoke directly with the Minister of Power. Despite attempts to calm them, they remained steadfast in their demands for immediate action.
According to reports, the power outage at UCH, which began over 100 days ago, was due to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) disconnecting the hospital from the national grid over an alleged N200 million debt.
The hospital has since been relying on generators and alternative power sources, which have proven insufficient to meet its needs, leading to further disruptions in medical services and financial losses as patients seek treatment elsewhere.
The protest by UI medical students is the latest in a series of demonstrations highlighting the growing frustration over the hospital’s power crisis.
