N495 Million Debts: IBEDC cuts off power supply, UCH staff, patients in darkness  

By: Ade Phillips

University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan has offered reassurance to patients and the public, affirming their commitment to resolving the ongoing power supply issue.

The hospital, facing a huge outstanding electricity bill totaling N495 million, remains dedicated to addressing the matter. Abiodun Adeoye, the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee at UCH, shared this information during an interview on Tuesday in Ibadan.

The interruption in power supply by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) stems from the hospital’s accumulated debts, prompting efforts to rectify the situation.

As reported by News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Adeoye said that while the management had engaged the IBEDC in an open discussion, it had also written to the Federal Ministry of Health for interventions.

He added that the health ministry had also communicated with the ministry of power, so they are doing their best to find a holistic solution.

“On our own efforts here, we have put inverter in some critical areas such as clinics and wards, we have generator dedicated to power the theatre, ICU and labour rooms.

“Also, the management constituted an Energy Committee led by Dr Obaro Michael to look into the short term and long term solutions to energy issues in the hospital.

“We feel the pain this might be causing, but we are not folding our hands and watching,” he said.

The UCH CMAC remarked that the major problem was that the IBEDC was charging UCH like a commercial centre, which would not be sustainable.

He added, “The IBEDC should see UCH as a sacred place because we render services to save lives. They send us bills up to N71 million in a month, and we only receive an overhead of just N14 million.

“This year alone, they gave us bill of N147 million and we have paid N145 out of it. They still disconnected us being the third time this year. The current management of UCH inherited some debts since it came in 2019, payment plan which was sustained was made then till they began to charge us as a commercial centre.

“And they disconnected us even without notice. They said we owe N495 million and should pay N250 million, but we can’t have the money and allow our patients to suffer.”

However, he urged the patients to feel free to contact management whenever they had any complaints.


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