After 16 days of being in darkness due to disconnection from the grid by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company for owing a debt of N495m, power has been finally restored to the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria. This has given relief to patients and staff who had been put up in uncomfortable conditions without electricity. The electricity was restored around 6.30 pm on Thursday. Recall that the UCH was disconnected by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company on March 19, the third time in less than two months over what it called “accumulated bill indebtedness”. While giving reasons for the disconnection, the Ibadan DisCo explained that it disconnected the hospital after failed attempts to engage with the facility’s management regarding the N495 million debt, which had persisted for over six years.
However, when our correspondent visited the hospital late Thursday, it was observed that electricity had been fully restored. Several departments like Family Medicine, emergency, nursing, engineering, and pharmacology, among others were fully lit. A source within the institution said that the hospital had paid part of the N495m debt before the electricity was restored.
The source revealed that the hospital also signed an agreement with the electricity distribution company on how to repay the outstanding debt. The hospital has paid N80m out of the N495 million and they have signed a memorandum of understanding on how to pay the rest of the money. The hospital just had to look for a way out because it was becoming embarrassing. “Workers had to purchase rechargeable lamps with which to attend to patients during this period when there was no electricity supply to the hospital,” the source noted.
