Power has been restored to University College Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, sixteen days after it was cut off by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company for a N495m debt.
It was gathered that the power was restored around 6;30pm on Thursday.
For the third time in less than two months, IBEDC disconnected the power on March 19 due to what it described as “accumulated bill indebtedness.”
The Ibadan DisCo provided an explanation for the disconnection, stating that it had disconnected the hospital due to unsuccessful attempts to communicate with the facility’s administration about the N495 million debt that had remained unpaid for more than six years.
Departments included Family Medicine, Emergency, Nursing, Engineering, and Pharmacology, among others, have power supplies.
Before power was restored, the hospital paid a part of the N495 million bill, a source stated.
According to the source, the hospital and the electrical distribution company also signed a contract outlining how the unpaid debt would be paid back.
“Out of the N495 million, the hospital management has paid N80 million, and it has signed a memorandum of understanding on how to pay the remaining amount.
The hospital just needed to find a solution since things were starting to get embarrassing.
According to the source, “when there was no electricity supply to the hospital, workers had to purchase rechargeable lamps with which to tend to patients.”
We also noticed that the hospital was sparse during the visit because some of the wards were running on skeleton staff.
According to the source, only a small number of patients in serious condition were admitted, and the majority of patients were discharged as a result of the power loss.
Additionally, it was discovered that due to a lack of electricity in the hospital, the majority of surgeries and examinations were performed outside of the building.
Oludayo Olabampe, the chairman of the JAC, bemoaned the fact that the healthcare personnel could not continue operating without electricity, having been without it since March 19.
When reached on Thursday, he stated that health professionals will completely return on Friday after the electricity was restored.
“Now that the cause has been addressed, there is no reason for us to carry on with it. Everything will be exactly as it was as we fully commence work,” he said.
