Students of the University of Ibadan (UI) College of Medicine took to the streets again on Thursday, staging a protest at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan. Their demand was simple: an end to the persistent power outage that has plagued their institution for over 100 days.
The demonstration comes just two days after the Minister of Power, Chief Bayo Adelabu, assured the public that electricity would be restored. However, students insist that nothing has changed, and the prolonged blackout continues to disrupt their studies, research, and even healthcare services at the teaching hospital.
Chanting slogans such as “We need power to study” and “100 days of darkness, enough is enough!”, the students marched to UCH, holding placards with messages like “Give us light or else” and “Save UCH.” They expressed their frustration over the hardship caused by the lack of electricity.
“We cannot continue like this. We are medical students and healthcare providers in training, yet we are forced to study under terrible conditions. Our hostels and laboratories are in darkness, and even the hospital is struggling,” some of the students lamented.
Despite repeated assurances from government officials, the students say no tangible steps have been taken to address the crisis. They have vowed to sustain their protests until electricity is restored.
When Chronicles Reporters reached out to Funmi Adetuyibi, the Public Relations Officer and Chief Information Officer at UCH, she clarified that the hospital itself has power.
“UCH has electricity; it is the students’ hall that has no electricity,” she stated.
Previously, Chronicles Reporters reported that Chief Bayo Adelabu had assured that electricity supply would be restored to UCH’s clinical areas within 24 to 48 hours. This promise followed an earlier exposé on the hospital’s prolonged blackout.
Adelabu, alongside the Managing Director of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Engr. Francis Agoha, had visited UCH’s management on Monday to discuss solutions. The minister confirmed that while power would soon return to the hospital’s clinical sections, the College of Medicine and other commercial entities within UCH would have to independently negotiate reconnection with IBEDC.
He further revealed that UCH had agreed to settle its N283 million electricity debt in installments over nine to twelve months while keeping up with current bills.
Adelabu also disclosed that the Nigerian government was working on a 50 MW mini-grid through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), with phase two of the project scheduled for the third or fourth quarter of 2025 to benefit both UI and UCH.
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