The blackout follows the disconnection of the hospital from the national grid by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over an outstanding debt of ₦495 million.
Patients at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have endured severe discomfort and risk to their health due to a prolonged power outage that has persisted for four months.
The blackout follows the disconnection of the hospital from the national grid by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over an outstanding debt of ₦495 million.
UCH, a major referral centre in Oyo State and southwestern Nigeria, has struggled to provide essential medical services without a stable power supply.
When SaharaReporters visited the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Friday, relatives of critically ill patients were seen sitting outside the premises, using handheld fans to provide relief from the sweltering heat.
Patients who could afford rechargeable fans had brought them for personal use, but the hospital wards remained in darkness.
The prolonged lack of electricity has raised serious concerns about the safety of patients, particularly those in critical care units who rely on life-saving medical equipment that requires constant power.
A relative of a patient admitted to the ICU, who identified himself simply as Kozeem, told SaharaReporters that the situation had worsened over the past three months.
He explained that since Thursday, when the generator supplying electricity to the ICU broke down, there had been no power supply, not even for a minute.
Kozeem accused the UCH management and the federal government of neglecting the plight of critically ill patients, particularly those who rely on medical equipment that requires electricity to function.
"Patients have been battling with two things since last year—first, trying to recover from their ailments, and second, struggling with the electricity crisis," he said.
He added that the power outage issue began two years ago when patients were asked to contribute money to fuel the hospital’s generators. However, an Ibadan businessman who owns Ace Supermarket donated a large power plant generator to the hospital and has since been providing fuel for it.
Kozeem further explained that patients' relatives have resorted to bringing rechargeable and solar-powered fans. The hospital management only turns on the generator when an operation is scheduled in the theatre or during medical emergencies.
He also revealed that, due to the persistent blackout, UCH has had to refer some patients to other hospitals for treatment.
SaharaReporters' correspondent visited the hospital premises. However, some wards, such as the Emergency Unit, the Children's Outpatient Clinic, and the Medical Outpatient Clinic, were powered by solar energy.
At the surgery clinic, the place was in total darkness, with no electricity supply. Some people were seen using handheld fans to cool themselves, while others were sweating due to the heat.
A man, who refused to speak on record, told SaharaReporters that electricity was not the only problem at the UCH. He said that some of their medical equipment was not functioning.
"Sometimes, patients are referred outside to conduct tests or obtain results for simple blood samples, depending on their diagnosis," he explained.
"If you go to the blood bank unit, you will see that there is no electricity. Although they have solar power, many times, we are still referred outside to get test results from the samples they collect."
He stated that things had never been this bad before and blamed the federal government for being indifferent to the plight of the people while they had the means to fly their families abroad for the slightest health issue.
Another person, who had just returned from charging his rechargeable fan and wished to remain anonymous, told SaharaReporters that his father had been hospitalised since last year, and they had been struggling with the electricity situation ever since.
He acknowledged that UCH provides some of the best medical treatment in the country, emphasising that the doctors and nurses are highly dedicated to patient care. However, he described the electricity situation as a major challenge for the hospital.
He revealed that his family had written a request to bring their inverter to the ICU ward, where his father was admitted, and the hospital management had granted their request.
The source said, "They usually power the generator in the morning for about four hours, and if there is an emergency in the theatre, they turn it on. There is a spot downstairs where we charge our gadgets, but they charge ₦100 per hour.
"They are not doing enough in terms of electricity. Sometimes, they don't even turn on the generator except in wards with solar power, and most of the wards with solar energy only have electricity at night."
He also mentioned that his family is not trying to leave the inverter behind for the hospital's use after his father is discharged as speculated by the management.
"Imagine that it is outsiders who are providing an inverter for their own patients, yet now UCH wants to take over the inverter we brought. People are telling us to be patient and not to speak out.
"It is a disgrace that a federal government hospital in the Southwest region does not have electricity. Although the doctors and nurses are doing their best, the main problem is electricity—a total blackout in a federal hospital.”
"The Federal Government is not treating the workers well," he said. "If there is electricity, they can attend to patients properly, but without electricity, they cannot handle many cases. The heat is unbearable, there is no cross-ventilation, and you can imagine the unpleasant odour within the hospital.
"This is a federal hospital, for crying out loud, and they are damaging their reputation. At the mortuary, they rely on solar power. Before they even bring a coffin inside, they have to keep the corpse outside first, which is unacceptable.
"If the Federal Government can take urgent action to address this issue, it will bring relief to many people. Look at the population of patients here; they are ordinary citizens. This hospital was once regarded as the second-best in West Africa. This was where some of Nigeria's most prominent people received treatment. But can UCH still maintain that reputation today?”
"See those small generators making noise everywhere—how can a patient sleep in such an environment? The noise is disturbing them. The most frustrating part is when you need to undergo a test. They will tell you there is no electricity, and you are forced to go outside to a private facility to get the test done,” he stated.
He told SaharaReporters that the hospital's reliance on external facilities is making money for private businesses due to the power outage.
He said, "The masses are crying. The cost of tests at private labs is higher than at government facilities. How many politicians would bring their families here for treatment? They will certainly take them abroad because they know they have failed the poor masses.
"The so-called Minister of Power does not deserve his position. And he is from Ibadan! He knows nothing about power; his focus is only on business, building hotels everywhere.”
He told SaharaReporters that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is indifferent and unconcerned about people's suffering, despite being from Ibadan.
"This problem is not Governor Seyi Makinde's responsibility. I know that if it were under his control, he would have intervened and found a lasting solution. But this is a federally owned hospital. Now, I just came from charging a fan outside—is that normal? It is not right at all," he added.
When SaharaReporters visited Obafunmilayo Adetuyibi, the Public Relations Officer and Chief Information Officer at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, she denied that patients bring generators from outside.
Funmi confirmed that the hospital has been facing electricity challenges, prompting the management to write to the Minister of Power and the Minister of Health, requesting a reclassification from Band A to Band B.
She told SaharaReporters that the power issue has persisted since last year. However, the hospital has been able to power all the wards using solar energy.
She said, "Now, first and foremost, the issue of power outage has been on in the hospital since the 26th of October, 2024. And, we've written letters. We've made so many attempts for help because the federal government alone can't do it. We need the help of well-meaning individuals and corporate organisations to also assist.
"Though, probably, few people have, assisted us. But the truth of the matter is, because a press release will be coming out shortly because we also got the news that states that we're asking our patients to bring generators. We have never asked anybody to bring a generator down to the hospital. The hospital has generators starting from 50KV, 150KV, 200KV, 250KV. We even have the one of 1,000KV that can power the entire hospital.
"So there is no reason for that. And for our operations, we don't run 24 hours operations for now because of the power outage. So at least we run, a generator for theatre for six hours. And we also use generator to sterilise the equipment that we use in the theatres.”
"The only thing is if the generators would be on for six hours, we'll try out and look for the critically ill people that need urgent surgeries, and we attend them. All the outpatient clinics are still going on. Starting from the GOP to the SOP, to the ENT, to MOP, all clinics are still going on fine,” she said.
When SaharaReporters asked about a man who bought a Mikano generator for the hospital and fuelled it to help patients receive necessary treatment, she said, "Well, a lot of donations have been coming to the hospital. Okay? And, if you look at it, from this administration, the chairman, the CMD came on board on March 1, 2019. And, if you check the hospital’s Facebook page, all the donations from 2019 till date, appreciation has been going on. No donor has told us that he's donating it for a particular patient. No!
"And nobody can say they are the ones putting diesel into a particular generator to be used. I'm not aware of that. We have generators that have been donated to the hospital. Yes.
"But not for a particular patient to help. No! And this donation of generator did not even come up. The ones I know didn't come up after October 26, 2024, no.”
She continued, "No generator has been donated to the hospital at all since that time. No generator at all. And let me also use this opportunity to also let you know that we have solar inverters in different wings of the hospital. You can come in the evening to see it. Starting from the Southeast - Southeast 1, Southeast 2, 3, 4.
"You go to Southwest 1, 2, 3, and 4. You go to the, the West Wing also, the Northwest Wing. That'll be solarised now. You go to the universal lab, uninterrupted power supply is now at the lab, which is the PPP lab. You go to OT 2.
"We go to OT 2 now. We also have uninterrupted power supply there. You go to the ECG, that's our echo room. You go to East. We have ECG. We have echo. You go there, there is the uninterrupted power supply, even in our ICU. You understand me? We also have solar there. You go to our labour ward.
"You understand? We have solar there. So there are so many, if you go to the blood bank, there's solar there now. 12.3 KVA is there already. You understand what I'm saying? So, thank God, I gave you the list of all the places. Owena, we have solar power there.”
"So the hospital is trying all its best to solarise the hospital. We've written letters for them to move us from Band A to Band B. The minister of health is also aware and the minister of power and they are on it. So we just plead with well meaningful Nigerians to please be patient with us. The management is on it. The federal government is on it," she explained.
Meanwhile, when SaharaReporters asked whether a patient had donated an inverter to the hospital, she said, 'Yes. That’s why I said yes. But the inverters that were donated—some, like the ward we call Southwestern—were endowed by Dr. Habeeb Olamitoye. That ward belongs to him. Yes, it has been endowed in his name, and he sponsors everything.
"They have solar there also. He is the one doing it. I think it's 2020 or 2021 thereabouts. That ward has been endowed. So he's the one funding the ward. You understand? Someone, I think, the one, Baba Adeboye, he also donated N10 million to the hospital, and that's what we used for ICU. Though we still need to upgrade the panels.
"You understand? So that's what I said. A few people have donated to the hospital, and anonymously also. I think they did one of the West Wing.”
When SaharaReporters asked why some patients are referred outside to conduct tests, she said, "Like I told you earlier, regarding the laboratory—even before the installation of the 10KV solar inverter—they had a backup generator. So, for our lab tests, we don't refer people outside.
"Like I told you earlier on, tests like MRI, we had the machine before, but it was faulty. So now we can refer that they do it, and there's a specific place that we know their readings will be good for us to use. Aside from that, we have our CT which is working here.
"So we run our CT ourselves. Our mammogram is running well. It's working. So there's no reason (to go outside). And we attend to patients. We have patients in the wards and they are attended to. So the hospital is running its services.”
She, however, said that the federal government is working on the power outage issue and looking for a way to resolve it.
According to her, UCH has also been promised a mini grid to help out.
She said, “So we know very soon that will come up. So that's one of the steps they're also taking.”
"We’ve also written to them to assist us with IBEDC, requesting that they move us from Band A to B. So we call on well-meaning Nigerians, individuals and organisations to help us, come to our aid and assist," she added.