Patients and their families staged a protest at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday, decrying ongoing shortages of electricity and water that they claim have put lives at risk.
The protest, captured in a viral social media video, shows patients and caregivers gathered en masse within the hospital premises, calling for immediate action to restore essential services. Protesters expressed their distress over the prolonged lack of electricity, alleging that the outages have contributed to multiple deaths within the hospital due to interrupted medical services.
A representative of the UCH management addressed the protesters, acknowledging the severity of the situation but explaining that the issue has escalated beyond the hospital’s control. According to him, the hospital received electricity bills totaling a staggering N88 million and N99 million in just two weeks, making it nearly impossible to meet the financial demands. He urged the protesters to direct their grievances toward federal authorities in Abuja, suggesting that systemic intervention is necessary.
He further explained that if the hospital were to charge patients for power based on actual usage to cover these high bills, each patient would incur a daily fee of N5,000, a cost many cannot afford.
Watch the video below;
https://x.com/NigeriaStories/status/1856080274343559523?t=PtNB0O5o3_HRq2SxLeWOCw&s=19
