UCH Workers Declare 5-Day Warning Strike Over 102 Days of Power Outage at Premier Hospital

Workers at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, under the Council of UCH Union Leaders (CUUL), have declared a five-day warning strike over persistent power outages affecting the tertiary institution. In a statement signed by union leaders Oladayo Olabampe and Dr. Uthman Adedeji, the workers revealed the hospital was without electricity for 102 days between November 3, 2024, and February 12, 2025, following disconnection by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).

Although power was restored through Minister of Power intervention, workers allege that electricity to service delivery areas and residential quarters is now being “internally rationed and restricted by Management.” They lament that this has crippled service delivery, endangered patients, exposed staff to hazards, and forced the hospital to turn away patients and refer procedures elsewhere. The hospital is losing millions in internally generated revenue daily. The unions called on the Federal Ministry of Health, Ministry of Power, and Federal Government to urgently intervene.

Key Points

The 102-day blackout at Nigeria’s premier teaching hospital represents a catastrophic failure of healthcare infrastructure.
The ongoing internal rationing suggests management prioritizes cost-cutting over patient safety.
Patient care is directly compromised, with lives endangered and procedures rejected or referred.
The revenue losses undermine the hospital’s financial sustainability beyond the immediate health crisis.
The strike highlights systemic failures in Nigeria’s health and power sectors converging at a critical institution.

UCH workers’ strike exposes the grim reality of a premier teaching hospital operating in darkness, turning away patients and losing revenue daily, a stark indictment of Nigeria’s intersecting health and power infrastructure crises.

Sources: Vanguard