After sixteen days of darkness, the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, finally had its power supply restored by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.
Electricity was reinstated around 6:30 pm on Thursday, marking the end of a prolonged blackout that began on March 19 due to an outstanding debt of N495 million owed by the hospital.
Explaining the reason for the disconnection, the IBEDC cited the accumulated bill indebtedness and unsuccessful attempts to engage with the hospital’s management regarding the debt, which had persisted for over six years.
Upon inquiry, it was observed that power had been fully restored across various departments of the hospital, including Family Medicine, Emergency, Nursing, Engineering, and Pharmacology.
A source within the hospital revealed that the management had made a payment of N80 million towards the outstanding debt and reached an agreement with the IBEDC on a repayment plan.
“The hospital management has paid N80 million out of the N495 million, and it has signed a memorandum of understanding on how to pay the rest of the money,” the source stated.
During the blackout, patients were discharged as the hospital operated minimally, with surgeries and tests being conducted outside the facility due to the lack of electricity.
The Joint Action Committee, representing all unions in the hospital, had earlier issued a notice of reduced working hours from 8 am to 4 pm due to the power outage. However, with the restoration of electricity, full operations are expected to resume, according to JAC Chairman Oludayo Olabampe.
“We don’t have any reason to continue with it since the reason for it has been addressed. We are going to resume work fully, and everything will be just like it was before,” Olabampe affirmed.
