Hundreds of students from the University of Ibadan (UI) have taken to the streets in protest over an 82-day power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH).
UCH is the teaching hospital where medical students from UI are trained.
UCH has been experiencing a power outage for the past year due to debts owed to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC.
It was gathered that IBEDC cut off the power supply to the hospital in March 2024 due to unpaid electricity bills.
The electricity distribution company also disconnected the hospital’s power supply in November 2023 for the same reason.
On Wednesday, the students staged a peaceful protest early Wednesday morning to express their dissatisfaction with the situation at the hospital.
According to reports, the procession was led by the President of the Students’ Union, SU, Bolaji Aweda.
Speaking durign the protest, Aweda stated that students of the institution have been directly affected.
“We are protesting against what is happening. And, of course, our students are affected.
“For 82 days, there has been no light at UCH, and this is due to the inability of UCH to pay its electricity bill to IBEDC.
“IBEDC has demanded that UCH settle its debt before they will restore power,” he said.
This is not the first time a prolonged blackout would affect the UCH. In 2024, the hospital underwent a blackout that forced doctors to use flashlights to do surgeries.
A student who spoke to journalists during the blackout said fellow UI students residing in Alexander Brown Hall had to move all the way from the hall to the other halls of residence on the main campus to charge their gadgets.
“There has been nothing less than 80 days of darkness in ABH in the students’ community in UCH, and students’ lives are no longer the same. People come all the way from UCH to come and charge on campus,” he said.
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