The University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, has denied owing the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, a N495 million bill, as rumored.
Mrs. Funmilayo Adetuyibi, UCH’s Public Relations Officer, PRO, clarified this in a statement provided to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Wednesday in Ibadan. IBEDC had disconnected the power supply to UCH due to what it termed accumulated bills of N495 million, resulting in the facility being plunged into darkness. Adetuyibi refuted the claim, stating that it was not true that the hospital had accumulated such a bill over the last three years.
She said that the present UCH administration, led by Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, assumed office on March 1, 2019 and inherited over N27 million as at Feb. 27, 2019, adding that it had since ensured the monthly payment of bills brought by IBEDC.
The UCH management has also been settling the backlog of bills inherited from previous administrations.
“This management has had meetings with the IBEDC management on several occasions.
“Aside that, a payment plan on how to offset the backlog of the outstanding debt has been forwarded to both the consultant of IBEDC and the regional head of IBEDC.
“This payment plan was rejected by IBEDC. They insisted that first payment of N250 million should be made within three months.
“This management’s catchphrase is “patients’ comfort and staff welfare.” In essence, the issue of power supply and water supply to the hospital are critical to our operations.
“While we can say that we have outstanding bills to settle with the IBEDC, the hospital management has left no stone unturned in our proactive approach in making sure our teeming patients have access to adequate medical care at all times,” she said.
Adetuyibi denied the report that the hospital usually spent N160 million on diesel on monthly basis, adding that only about N15 to N17 million was being expended on diesel per month.
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IBEDC has never provided UCH with 24-hour power supply, according to the hospital’s internal audit department records.
“The story of patients’ relatives purchasing sachet water does not emerge at all. Despite a power outage, the hospital relies on a generator to pump water. The hospital has just 45 generators. Some of the 45 generators need to be serviced, while others need to be replaced, she explained.
Adetuyibi also stated that the hospital’s management had installed solar inverters in several areas, including all out-patient clinics, the Accident and Emergency Department, Endoscopy Suites, ECG Suites, Staff Clinic, Owena Dialysis Ward, and the Medical Microbiology Department, among others.
“As stated earlier, the contention we have with IBEDC is the old bill inherited by this current administration. We paid N50 million in January 2024, N55 million in February 2024 and N45 million in March 2024,” she said.
The public relations officer added that IBEDC was insisting that the hospital must pay the inherited bills, whereas it (UCH) had been settling the old bills along with current bills.
She said the management had appealed to the electricity distribution company on several occasions not to charge UCH on commercial rates because of the fact that it renders social services.
“But our appeals have not had the ears of the company. To address power outages, the hospital established an energy committee. The committee is responsible for raising funds to pay electricity bills and provide solar energy to other hospital areas.
The energy committee aims to address the energy issue in both short and long term. We implore well-wishers, corporations, and the international community to help the hospital.
“UCH is a national heritage; our collective legacy, and we are all responsible for maintaining it,” Adetuyibi stated.
