Students from the University of Ibadan (UI) staged a peaceful protest today, decrying an 82-day power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. The hospital, crucial for training medical students, has been without electricity since late 2024 due to unpaid debts to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
This isn’t the first time UCH has faced disconnection. IBEDC cut off power in March and November 2024 for similar reasons, but the current outage is the longest yet. The blackout has crippled medical services and disrupted academic activities for UI students.
Leading the protest, Students’ Union President Bolaji Aweda described the situation as dire: “A hospital should never go dark for this long. Our training and patient care are suffering because UCH can’t settle its bills.”
While IBEDC demands payment before reconnecting the hospital, students and observers are calling for government intervention to resolve the crisis. For now, UCH remains in darkness, a stark reminder of the challenges facing Nigeria’s public institutions.