The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has assured that electricity will be restored to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, within 24 to 48 hours.
This follows a crucial meeting between the hospital’s management and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
The minister made this commitment today, February 10, while addressing protesting students of the University of Ibadan (UI), who took to the streets to express their frustration over the prolonged power outage at UCH.
The blackout, which has lasted over 100 days, has severely impacted healthcare services and disrupted academic activities at the medical institution.
Adelabu attributed the root cause of the problem to the hospital’s clinical service sector being overburdened with electricity bills, which included consumption by independent users within the hospital premises.
He assured that going forward, there will be a proper separation of power distribution to ensure that only UCH’s essential services are charged accordingly.
Also, the minister announced plans by the Federal Government to incorporate both UCH and UI into the Energizing Education Program (EEP).
This move, according to the minister, will establish a 50MW interconnected solar power mini-grid before the end of the year, significantly reduce the financial burden of electricity costs for both institutions.
The Chief Medical Director of UCH, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, and the Managing Director of IBEDC, Engineer Francis Agoha, also addressed the protesting students.
They reassured them that all outstanding issues between the hospital and the electricity provider had been resolved, and power would soon be restored.