The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has stopped admitting new patients as union members embark on a five-day warning strike over restricted power supply.
The unions include the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUHAP), and others.
All union members at the hospital did not work on Monday, as the strike began at 8:00 a.m.
The unions, under the umbrella of the Council of UCH Union Leaders (CUUL), alleged that deliberate withholding of power had crippled activities, causing suffering for patients.
Co-Chairman of CUUL and UCH ARD President, Dr. Uthman Adedeji, told journalists that electricity to service delivery areas and residential quarters was being internally rationed and restricted by management.
He said the deliberate withholding crippled efficient service delivery, endangered patients, exposed staff to hazards, and undermined the hospital’s integrity.
Adedeji noted that hampered power supply led to cancellation of routine surgeries and disarray in theater schedules.
He expressed regret, saying: “Critical laboratory investigation results are not available to clinicians when needed, while medications, reagents, and vaccines are lost due to broken cold chains.
“Blood donors are bled in unconducive environments, research endeavors have ground to a halt.
“Training of medical personnel has suffered irreparable setbacks, and diagnostic, life-saving equipment remains idle.
“Patients who should receive care are being turned away, procedures are referred elsewhere, and lives hang in the balance.
“A teaching hospital in 2026 is being forced to operate like a facility from a bygone era.”
Adedeji added that a huge chunk of cases and procedures presented to UCH were being rejected or referred due to inadequate internal power distribution.
“The hospital is losing millions of naira daily in internally generated revenue; ironically, a cost-cutting measure has become a revenue-destroying policy.
“If this continues, the financial survival of UCH is at serious risk.
“Moreover, healthcare workers are being forced to operate under conditions that violate basic medical safety standards,” he said.
According to Adedeji, severe water shortages have arisen due to inability to pump water, increasing the risk of hospital-acquired infections, with surgeries conducted using headlamps.
“Nurses use mobile phone torch lights in wards; laboratories handle hazardous and aerosol-generating samples without functional fume cupboards.
“There is exposure to toxic and carcinogenic fumes due to inactive extraction systems; staff on night duty are left in darkness, facing security risks.
“Staff and patient relatives manually fetch water to upper floors; these are not mere inconveniences but threats to life,” he said.
He lamented that staff in hospital quarters face hardship from paying Band A electricity tariffs plus additional management charges, yet receive only about one hour of power daily.
“Faulty prepaid meters removed over a year ago remain unreplaced; arbitrary estimated billing between N10,000 and N25,000 monthly ignores actual consumption, and persistent water scarcity affects families and students.
“Because of power restrictions, students are deprived of critical clinical exposure, essential procedures are diverted elsewhere, and research activities are severely impaired.
“If this continues, the future of medical education and research in Nigeria will suffer long-term damage,” he said.
The unions called for immediate cessation of internal electricity rationing and full transmission of all power supplied by IBEDC to service areas and residential quarters.
They demanded immediate restoration of water supply across hospital facilities, hostels, and residential quarters.
They appealed to the Federal Ministry of Health, Ministry of Power, Federal Government, and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene urgently to prevent further deterioration.
They called for urgent repair or replacement of faulty prepaid meters and discontinuation of arbitrary estimated billing.
“We need reversal of the newly imposed rent structure within hospital housing.
“Also, let there be reinstatement of rent deductions at source in accordance with Federal Government financial regulations.
“Where there’s darkness, there can be no healing, no training, and no research; therefore, together we say ‘Let there be light’,” they stated.
Co-Chairman of CUUL, Mr. Oladayo Olabampe, said the unions would reconvene to re-strategise if demands were not met.
“The five-day warning strike has become inevitable; it is not about personal gain, but patient safety, institutional survival, and professional dignity.
“This call for help is devoid of any political coloring or affiliations.
“The strike continues till Saturday, 8:00 a.m. If nothing changes, we will not keep quiet and may be forced to embark on an indefinite strike,” Olabampe said.
