Mathew Amaechi
Hundreds of students from the University of Ibadan (UI) took to the streets on Wednesday to protest the prolonged power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, Oyo state. The demonstration, led by the Students’ Union President, Bolaji Aweda, was a show of solidarity with their medical colleagues whose studies have been severely impacted by the outage.
The power outage, which has lasted for over a year, is attributed to the hospital’s substantial debt to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC). Despite partial payment of the debt, the power supply was disconnected again in November 2023, leaving patients and medical students in a precarious situation.
Aweda emphasized that the students are directly affected by the situation, citing the 82-day power outage as a significant disruption to their academic activities. He called on the authorities to resolve the issue, stressing that the IBEDC’s demand for debt settlement before restoring power is unacceptable.
The UCH Management has acknowledged the challenge, with its Public Relations Officer, Obafunmilayo Adetuyibi, explaining that the hospital is struggling to settle the debt. However, the students’ protest highlights the urgent need for a solution to ensure the smooth operation of the hospital and the academic pursuits of the medical students.