A group known as the Legacy Stars of Ibadan (LSI) has urged President Bola Tinubu and Professor Ali Pate, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, to look into the management of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, both now and in the past, due to a power outage that has severely hindered operations at the medical facility.
In a statement released following its monthly meeting in Ibadan on Monday, LCI President Mogaji Saheed Oyewale and Secretary Barrister Kazeem Oladepo said the investigation was necessary to address and find long-term solutions to the teaching hospital’s ongoing power outage.
UCH has been experiencing power outages in recent months due to debt owed to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
The problem of UCH’s continuous power loss was one of the topics covered and debated by the members in attendance.
“During the meeting, we noted that UCH has experienced power disruptions for the past three months. This year in March, the electricity supply was switched off. However, when several people stepped in, this was fixed.
Due to electricity debt, the power supply was recently turned off. Significant tasks that need to be completed won’t get done while there is no light. We don’t want this to continue, and the hospital is dealing with a lot of difficulties.
“Many patients who needed medical care in the hospital were unable to receive it, and this would have detrimental effects on the health outcome of the people in general,” the group noted.
The LCI urged the president and the minister to “brighten their searchlights and probe the current management and the previous ones,” calling the situation an embarrassment.
“We’ve heard that the hospital is suffering many difficulties. As a tertiary healthcare facility, UCH shouldn’t be in this sad state. “Something should be done by the federal government,” the organization said.