“University of Ibadan Students Protest 82-Day Power Outage at UCH”
Students of the University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, took to the streets on Wednesday morning in a peaceful protest to voice their frustration over the ongoing 82-day power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan.
The protest was sparked by the hospital’s prolonged lack of electricity, which has severely impacted medical training at the teaching hospital. UCH serves as the primary training ground for UI’s medical students, and the extended power failure has created significant challenges for both students and staff.
The power outage began in March 2024, after the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) disconnected the hospital’s power supply due to unpaid electricity bills. This disconnection followed a similar incident in November 2023, when IBEDC cut off the power for the same reason. Since then, the power supply has not been restored, leaving UCH in a prolonged state of darkness.
Bolaji Aweda, the President of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union, led the protest, expressing the collective dissatisfaction of students who have been directly affected by the situation. “For 82 days, there has been no light at UCH, and this is due to the hospital’s inability to pay its electricity bill to IBEDC,” Aweda stated. “IBEDC has made it clear that power will not be restored until the debt is settled.”
The students are calling for immediate action to resolve the power crisis at UCH, which has disrupted their medical training and created difficulties for hospital operations.
